Crunch Time For UK Window Cleaners - July 2012

Unless legislation is changed; Anyone in areas controlled by Thames Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast will not be able to operate as window cleaners from July 4th.

Thousands of badges have been handed out reading 'proud to be dirty' - Psychological pressure like this on the British public could make it impossible for window cleaners to carry out their work.

Drought: Water companies say ‘Be proud of your dirty car’ - Thames Water has printed hundreds of bumper stickers with the slogan "Proud to be Dirty" in an attempt to encourage drivers to stop washing their vehicles over the summer. Restrictions brought in across the South East ban residents from using hosepipes to wash their cars, patios, and the outside of houses. Simon Evans, of Thames Water, said that as long as a car's windows and lights are clean the rest of the chassis should be filthy. “People should wear dirty cars like a badge of honour. You should be proud to have the dirtiest paintwork in Britain," he said. Mr Evans also said people should also be proud to have dusty patios and scorched lawns. "It's green to be brown!" he said. The recommendations hark back to the last serious drought in Britain in 1976 when people were told to share a bath.

Next to be banned: Car washes, window cleaners - and even your garden pond. Tougher new controls on water use are expected to be in force by July. A summer of brown lawns and dirty cars, buses, trains and planes beckons as firms are banned from using water for non-essential use. For the first time, commercial car washes, window-cleaning firms and gardeners hired to look after parks, gardens and lawns are also to be banned from using hosepipes and sprinklers.

The ban, which was introduced across swathes of the South of England last week, is now set to last for the whole summer, and may carry on into next year unless there are several weeks of heavy rain. Anyone caught using a hosepipe faces a fine of up to £1,000.

Ornamental ponds will dry up and garden water features will cease. Even public swimming pools face closure, although this would be a  last resort. From the east of England to London, through the Thames Valley to Oxfordshire, and  the whole of the South of England, every water company is preparing to ask the Government for a drought order that will outlaw  non-essential use of water. 

Work is under way now because it can take up to ten weeks to obtain such powers. Applications are made to Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman but she cannot make a decision until a public inquiry has taken place. Companies are also planning to apply for permits to allow them to extract more water from rivers that are already running low. The current hosepipe ban could also ruin plans by towns to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Councils fear that patriotic red, white and blue floral hanging baskets will shrivel and die because they can’t be watered.

A hosepipe ban comes into force across the Swindon area today. Thames Water, which serves the town, was one of seven water firms to announce the move as the Environment Agency warned of severe drought in the coming months. It said groundwater levels in the region were close to the lowest ever recorded, and many tributaries of the River Thames were running very low, particularly the River Pang, which is running at a third of average flows. The move makes it a criminal offence to use a hosepipe for most jobs, such as watering gardens, and washing the car, although using watering cans and buckets of tap water is still legal.

There are a number of exemptions, including fire service operations and the field of play at national and international sporting events. In this phase of the ban, there are also exemptions for certain businesses to carry out functions vital to their business, such as car washes, window cleaners and garden centres. Thames Water says anyone found breaching the ban could be prosecuted and face a maximum £11,000 fine, however, the company hopes people will comply out of goodwill.

Water companies are encouraging people to report neighbours breaking the ban.

Why has the hosepipe ban been imposed and who will it affect? Quite simply, there has not been enough rainfall in the affected parts of the UK. East Anglia saw just 426mm of rain during 2011, which is a third less than the annual average for the region. And recent months have done little to ease the problem. The Met Office's provisional rainfall figures for March suggest it was the driest on record in the UK, with just 39.1mm - just 41% of the average for the month, which is 95.9mm. Around 20 million people across southern and eastern England will be affected by the ban, with seven companies imposing the restrictions. They are; Thames Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast.

What are the restrictions? Under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (temporary hosepipe bans) (Flood and Water Management Act 2010) the ban prevents customers of the seven affected water companies from using a hosepipe to; water gardens, clean private motor-vehicles, water plants, clean private leisure boats, fill domestic swimming or paddling pools, drawing water for recreational use, filling garden ponds, filling or cleaning ornamental fountains, cleaning walls or windows of homes and cleaning paths or patios.

Are there exemptions to the ban? Disabled people who are members of the blue badge scheme are exempt from the ban, while hosepipe use is allowed 'on sports playing areas' if health and safety concerns exist - and if international or national sporting events are to be played there. Some business use is also permitted, including car washing or window cleaning operations at domestic premises.

What are the penalties for using a hosepipe during the ban? Domestic customers will be subject to a £1,000 fine if they are found to have flouted the ban.