Water companies

[musselman]

Over a month ago Yorkshire Water were reported on BBC Look North saying that even if the drought continued and was worse than 1995, there wouldn't be a shortage. Now it has just dawned on me as to why there are no hosepipe bans in place.....with an ever-increasing number of customers on meters, they would be losing money if a ban was introduced!! So, my question is, will the EA argue the case for a ban to be imposed (and seek juridiction from the government to be in a position to do so) when water levels in an area reach a certain point? Thus taking the decision away from the money-grabbing, profit-making ex-public utility that has a monopoly on our supply, and by definition, the state of out rivers and reservoirs.

[envagencyyorkshire]

Julie Dracup (Senior Environmental Planner) writes:

You’ve raised a number of issues here so I’ve broken them down to answer.

Over a month ago Yorkshire Water were reported on BBC Look North saying that even if the drought continued and was worse than 1995, there wouldn't be a shortage.

Since the drought of 1995/96 the water company has invested millions of pounds improving it's clean and waste water distribution networks as well as amending the operating procedures. All customers can access the companies plan via their website. Through use of river, groundwater and reservoir sources, the company are now able to balance supplies to ensure they meet their level of service.

Now it has just dawned on me as to why there are no hosepipe bans in place.....with an ever-increasing number of customers on meters, they would be losing money if a ban was introduced!!

The company calculate the cost of their operations, the required investment and a rate of return and work with Ofwat too determine prices of water for the five year planning period. To oversimplify, the company therefore assess the known metered income and apportion the remaining required income to unmetered customers. Metered customers are billed for what they use. Hosepipe bans work to reduce demand across all customers and while it may be seen as a loss of income against metered customers this is unlikely to be as significant as the savings the company accrue from not needing to abstract, treat and distribute the water.

So, my question is, will the EA argue the case for a ban to be imposed (and seek juridiction from the government to be in a position to do so) when water levels in an area reach a certain point?

A ban on hosepipes is the decision of the water company and is based on their supply situation. The frequency of the restriction will be a statistically derived level of service based on the willingness of customers to pay for security of supply. For example, bills could increase dramatically to fund new storage reservoirs thus making the risk of supply failure effectively zero. It is not in the Environment Agency's gift to force water companies to impose bans. We will apply for drought orders to change reservoir operations in times of environmental drought. We will also take appropriate mitigation measures, as defined in our drought plan, to reduce the impact of drought. However, we acknowledge that drought is a natural process and therefore there will be times when the environment will be impacted by dry weather.

Thus taking the decision away from the money-grabbing, profit-making ex-public utility that has a monopoly on our supply, and by definition, the state of out rivers and reservoirs.

This is clearly a personal view and not something the Environment Agency can comment on. However, it is worth noting that abstraction is not just for water supply. Almost 50% of water licensed in Yorkshire is not for public water supply. It might also be pertinent to raise awareness of the Government's water white paper. A consultation seeking views on the water industry, competition, use of wastewater and investment was available until November 2010. A summary of responses is available via the Defra website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/water/). The final white paper, when produced, will be of interest to the person asking the questions.

[musselman]

Many thanks for the detailed reply. Let's hope it rains!