Water can be wasted – that’s official

The south of Britain has been struggling with the worst drought for years. You’d think that, in such a crisis, the government would tell the water industry to pull its socks up, mend its pipes and stop wasting the precious liquid. But no such thing.

Ofwat, which sounds as silly as its rules appear to be, must know that millions of gallons are running to waste through the leaky pipes that Water Boards neglect to mend. Yet for the next three years, it is only asking the industry to reduce this profligacy by a paltry 1.5%. Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, rightly called the wastage ‘scandalous’ and pointed out that if such profligacy goes on, a shortage of water will settle in as the normal state of things. Meanwhile, the Water Market Reports for May 2012 are abysmal. They declare a total water efficiency of 30%. In any decent school, this is a failure.  Black Mark. Must Do Better