Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?
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Jim K


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On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in
150m of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn, or to take rainwater from a water butt to water plants?
I presumed that this was allowed, but I wouldn't have been surprised to find
that the laws weren't applied with any common sense. I wonder how the
enforcers distinguish between private and public when all they get is a
report from a neighbour who has only seen the spraying end of the hosepipe
and not where it is connected.

On 25/07/2018 09:47, wrote:
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in
150m of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

shurely it depends on the license conditions for the abstraction of
water? I didn't think anyone could dig a well and take water from an
aquifer these days.

Very much depends on the local bylaws. many bore holes go to the same body
of water and you do not really want to upset your neighbours.
Brian

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"Jim K" wrote in message
o.uk...
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?
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Jim K


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"NY" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn, or to take rainwater from a water butt to water
plants?

And you are free to **** on the plants too.

I presumed that this was allowed, but I wouldn't have been surprised to
find that the laws weren't applied with any common sense.

Neither would I.

I wonder how the enforcers distinguish between private and public when all
they get is a report from a neighbour who has only seen the spraying end
of the hosepipe and not where it is connected.

They have to do the proving if they try to shaft you.

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:47, wrote:
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

shurely it depends on the license conditions for the abstraction of water?
I didn't think anyone could dig a well and take water from an aquifer
these days.

They aint digging with an old well, stupid.

"Brian Gaff" Wrote in message:
Very much depends on the local bylaws. many bore holes go to the same body
of water and you do not really want to upset your neighbours.
Brian


Bore hole?
How would the upset-able neighbours know anyway?
And if they already have access to the water why shouldn't anyone
else in the vicinity?
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Jim K


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On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 13:43:47 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 10:15:23 +0100, "NY" wrote:

wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn,

I didn't think that was permitted. A hosepipe ban is just that: no
hoses, for anything, if you're on a mains supply. They expect you to
carry it around in watering cans, whether it comes from a water butt,
kitchen sink or bath. BICBW, and it may differ from region to region.

I used a hosepipe during a ban in the '90s - the hot water cylinder had a
drip that resulted in fungus growing under it and a stain on the ceiling.
A hose was the only way to empty it and I ran the water into the water butts
- no point in wasting it.
Th base of the cylinder is a good lid for one of the butts.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 19:35:26 +1000, cantankerous senile geezer Rot Speed
blabbered, again:

And you are free to **** on the plants too.

You obviously feel free to **** in any thread in this group, senile
Ozzietard!

--
Sqwertz to Rot Speed:
"This is just a hunch, but I'm betting you're kinda an argumentative
asshole.
MID:

In article ,
"NY" writes:
wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn, or to take rainwater from a water butt to water plants?
I presumed that this was allowed, but I wouldn't have been surprised to find
that the laws weren't applied with any common sense. I wonder how the
enforcers distinguish between private and public when all they get is a
report from a neighbour who has only seen the spraying end of the hosepipe
and not where it is connected.

Water butt with rainwater is fine.

Can't use a hose for water delivered via the water main, even if it's
been used for bath/washing/etc. You can use a watering can, providing
you don't fill it using a hose.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 25/07/2018 20:31, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"NY" writes:
wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn, or to take rainwater from a water butt to water plants?
I presumed that this was allowed, but I wouldn't have been surprised to find
that the laws weren't applied with any common sense. I wonder how the
enforcers distinguish between private and public when all they get is a
report from a neighbour who has only seen the spraying end of the hosepipe
and not where it is connected.

Water butt with rainwater is fine.

Can't use a hose for water delivered via the water main, even if it's
been used for bath/washing/etc. You can use a watering can, providing
you don't fill it using a hose.

I heard you can fill it with a very short hose, if the tap is rather
high or in an awkward position.

--
Max Demian

Max Demian wrote:
On 25/07/2018 20:31, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"NY" writes:
wrote in message
...
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am digging-in 150m
of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to control the pump
automagically.

So you are allowed to use a hosepipe to siphon bathwater out of the bath
onto plants or lawn, or to take rainwater from a water butt to water plants?
I presumed that this was allowed, but I wouldn't have been surprised to find
that the laws weren't applied with any common sense. I wonder how the
enforcers distinguish between private and public when all they get is a
report from a neighbour who has only seen the spraying end of the hosepipe
and not where it is connected.

Water butt with rainwater is fine.

Can't use a hose for water delivered via the water main, even if it's
been used for bath/washing/etc. You can use a watering can, providing
you don't fill it using a hose.

I heard you can fill it with a very short hose, if the tap is rather
high or in an awkward position.

What's a 'hosepipe'? If it's a 'flexible pipe' then I doubt if a lot
of people can turn on the tap above their sink legally. If it's not
just a 'flexible pipe' then what is it?

--
Chris Green
·

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 19:31:59 -0000 (UTC), Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Water butt with rainwater is fine.

Can't use a hose for water delivered via the water main, even if it's
been used for bath/washing/etc. You can use a watering can, providing
you don't fill it using a hose.

That's broadly it. How ever the "legal notice" published by United
Utilities and linked linked from:

https://www.unitedutilities.com/emer...n-on-the-way2/

Makes for interesting reading.

At first glance it seems to contradict itself, or is at least
confusing, over "grey water".

If some one has a Blue Badge or on the "Priority Services Register of
United Utilities Ltd" they come under "Discretionary Universal
Exceptions" and can use a hosepipe for most if not all of the banned
activies but it doesn't say where they can use a hosepipe. So one
assumes they can use one anywhere...

Also under the "Discretionary Universal Exceptions":

"* Cleaning a private motor vehicle using specific low water use
apparatus such as pressure washers;

* Watering food crops at domestic premises or private allotments using a
hosepipe;

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
Do hosepipe bans apply to private water supplies?

Probably depends on what area you are in but here's the info from United
Utilities
https://www.unitedutilities.com/emergencies/hosepipe-ban-on-the-way2/
for the ban due to come into force on 5th August.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The main restrictions include:

Watering a garden and/or plants using a hosepipe
Cleaning a private car, van, motorbike, trailer, caravan or leisure
boat using a hosepipe
Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming pool, paddling pool or
ornamental fountain
Cleaning walls or windows using a hosepipe
Using a water from a hosepipe for domestic recreational use
Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe
Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe.

You can still use water outdoors if you:

You are a blue badge holder or are on our priority services register
Use tap water to fill a bucket or watering can
Use grey water, which is water thats been used before ie bath water
Have your own water supply such as a private borehole.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Mike Clarke

"Mike Clarke" wrote in message
news
You can still use water outdoors if you:

You are a blue badge holder or are on our priority services register
Use tap water to fill a bucket or watering can
Use grey water, which is water thats been used before ie bath water
Have your own water supply such as a private borehole.

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe. Which is sensible: if it was otherwise going to go down the drain,
it makes sense to reuse it for watering the garden.

In article , NY
wrote:
"Mike Clarke" wrote in message
news
You can still use water outdoors if you:

You are a blue badge holder or are on our priority services
register Use tap water to fill a bucket or watering can Use grey
water, which is water that‘s been used before ie bath water Have
your own water supply such as a private borehole.

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe. Which is sensible: if it was otherwise going to go down the
drain, it makes sense to reuse it for watering the garden.

when we last had a "hosepipe ban". it only applied to unattended
hosepipes. If you were prepared to stand there holding the hose, that was
allowed.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 10:20:04 +0100
"dennis@home" wrote:

On 25/07/2018 09:47, wrote:
On 25/07/2018 09:31, Jim K wrote:
[...]
No, which is why I've just reactivated an old well and am
digging-in 150m of MDPE. Next job is to fit a pressure switch to
control the pump automagically.

shurely it depends on the license conditions for the abstraction of
water? I didn't think anyone could dig a well and take water from an
aquifer these days.

From a quick look it appears that they're not interested in
abstraction of less than 20 cubic meters a day.

On Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:52:58 +0100, NY wrote:

Use grey water, which is water that s been used before ie bath
water

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe.

Only if the grey water did not orginate from the mains.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 01/08/2018 18:58, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:52:58 +0100, NY wrote:

Use grey water, which is water thatâ s been used before ie bath
water

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe.

Only if the grey water did not orginate from the mains.

That does seem to be way the rules are worded. Presumably to stop people
filling the bath to the top and then claiming that they can feed a hose
from it "because it is waste water now."

I would supsect that, in reality, if you were caught using actual USED
bathwater, they'd not be overly concerned. Especially bearing in mind
that it seems that no-one has ever actually received a fine for flouting
a hosepipe ban (according to the Manchester Evening News).

SteveW

On Wed, 1 Aug 2018 20:15:01 +0100, Steve Walker wrote:

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is*
allowed by
hosepipe.

Only if the grey water did not orginate from the mains.

That does seem to be way the rules are worded.

But not very clearly IMHO.

Presumably to stop people filling the bath to the top and then claiming
that they can feed a hose from it "because it is waste water now."

Probably.

I would supsect that, in reality, if you were caught using actual USED
bathwater, they'd not be overly concerned.

The only thing I can think of is that it reduces the amount of water
in the sewage system. The ban really only affects water use that
wouldn't enter the sewage system under normal conditions.

Especially bearing in mind that it seems that no-one has ever actually
received a fine for flouting a hosepipe ban (according to the Manchester
Evening News).

B-) Doesn't surprise me.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 02/08/18 11:13, Dave Liquorice wrote:

The only thing I can think of is that it reduces the amount of water
in the sewage system. The ban really only affects water use that
wouldn't enter the sewage system under normal conditions.

But, of course, we are paying for it. I am using over 1000l twice a week
to water anything planted less than two years ago, and anything affected
by a couple of 60 ft trees. I don't mind paying for the water I use
(£1.31/ m^3), but I am very annoyed about lining the pockets of the
water company by paying for wastewater treatment (£2.27/m^3) where none
is involved.

Wasn't Gove making some comments a week or three back about water
companies making large profits while doing little to tackle the mains
leakage problem? Seems to me he should be looking at the vastly
increased profits from paying for imaginary waste disposal when watering
gardens due to lack of rain.

--

Jeff

On Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:52:58 +0100, "NY" wrote:

snip

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe. Which is sensible: if it was otherwise going to go down the drain,
it makes sense to reuse it for watering the garden.

I guess it all depends if you want to keep it in use as drinking water
or not?

If it goes 'down the drain' it quickly goes back though the water
treatment plant and back to your tap. If it goes onto your plants and
into the ground / water table or evaporates, it wouldn't?

Or if your grey water goes into a septic tank etc.

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 12:29:45 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 02/08/18 11:13, Dave Liquorice wrote:

The only thing I can think of is that it reduces the amount of water
in the sewage system. The ban really only affects water use that
wouldn't enter the sewage system under normal conditions.

But, of course, we are paying for it. I am using over 1000l twice a week
to water anything planted less than two years ago, and anything affected
by a couple of 60 ft trees. I don't mind paying for the water I use
(£1.31/ m^3), but I am very annoyed about lining the pockets of the
water company by paying for wastewater treatment (£2.27/m^3) where none
is involved.

What about those times when you add water to the system for them to
have to treat (when it rains) that you didn't buy off them?

Had your house not been there it would have just gone into the ground?
;-)

snip

Cheers, T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:52:58 +0100, "NY" wrote:

snip

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe. Which is sensible: if it was otherwise going to go down the
drain,
it makes sense to reuse it for watering the garden.

I guess it all depends if you want to keep it in use as drinking water
or not?

If it goes 'down the drain' it quickly goes back though the water
treatment plant and back to your tap.

That depends where the outflow from the sewage works goes. If the water is
clean enough to supply as drinking water, that's fine, but many parts of the
country discharge the treated water into rivers, so it still has to go
through the evaporation of the sea and rainfall stages before it gets back
to the tap.


If hosepipe bans really *did* outlaw you using water from the tap, after
being used for bath, for watering garden via a hosepipe, than there would be
the problem of how else do you water a garden? If you collect rainwater, you
need to make sure the water butts are higher than the ground to be watered
or have a pump. In contrast, bathrooms are usually upstairs and so it's easy
to siphon water from there onto the garden outside.

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

That assumes you have access to the outflow from the septic tank, and a way
of pumping the water uphill from underground to above ground level to the
garden. I presume the treated water from septic tanks usually goes into a
soakaway somewhere nearby, without ever being accessible by the user. And
the solid material, minus the majority of the water, is pumped out every few
years. (*)

That reminds me of a very funny situation at my parents' holiday cottage in
the Yorkshire Dales. When they bought it in the mid-70s, there was a septic
tank under the drive, but also a big open-topped breezeblock-lined chamber
buried in the back garden. Now the garden is about 10 feet higher than the
house. Apparently (according to neighbours) the estate which owns/owned a
lot of the houses in the surrounding village dug the pit in the back garden,
lined it with breezeblocks and laid the 4" sewer pipe from there to the
bathroom. Only to discover that the outlet into the cess pit was slightly
*higher* than the loo. **** doesn't flow uphill, and if by some miracle it
*did* manage to find its way in there, it would all siphon back out through
the loo once the tank was full. Hence the replacement septic tank at a lower
level under the drive.

Sounds like a story reminiscent of Blaster Bates' "shower of ****" tale.


The unfinished septic tank came in very useful as a general dumping ground
for old storage heaters, rubble from old plaster, and all the other things
from the badly-modernised cottage that we had to strip out to make it
habitable. A local farmer was happy to finish off the job of levelling the
ground with his JCB afterwards for a few beer tokens. But if an
archaeologist ever digs round there in a few centuries, he'll wonder why
people dug a big hole in the ground, lined it with concrete blocks and then
used it as a rubbish dump.


(*) What are the current rules about what is and isn't recommended to go
into a septic tank? I'd understood that you needed to minimise the amount of
water, so rainwater and grey water (bath, washing machine, washing up) had
to go into soakaway. But two plumbers have said that bathwater should really
go into the septic tank, rather than the communal land drain soakaway for
the village. Wouldn't that tend to overwhelm the septic tank and prevent the
rotting of the sewage from taking place?

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 13:16:06 +0100, "NY" wrote:

"T i m" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:52:58 +0100, "NY" wrote:

snip

So it would seem that using grey water (eg bathwater) *is* allowed by
hosepipe. Which is sensible: if it was otherwise going to go down the
drain,
it makes sense to reuse it for watering the garden.

I guess it all depends if you want to keep it in use as drinking water
or not?

If it goes 'down the drain' it quickly goes back though the water
treatment plant and back to your tap.

That depends where the outflow from the sewage works goes. If the water is
clean enough to supply as drinking water, that's fine, but many parts of the
country discharge the treated water into rivers, so it still has to go
through the evaporation of the sea and rainfall stages before it gets back
to the tap.

Ok.


If hosepipe bans really *did* outlaw you using water from the tap, after
being used for bath, for watering garden via a hosepipe, than there would be
the problem of how else do you water a garden?

You don't? After all, if there is the hint of a ban why would you use
what is likely to be a valuable a rationed commodity on keeping plants
alive over humans (a slight exception would be your vegetable patch
possibly). 'Every little helps' etc?

If you collect rainwater, you
need to make sure the water butts are higher than the ground to be watered
or have a pump.

Mum has a pump in hers that will push water though two long hoses to
her front garden. ;-)

In contrast, bathrooms are usually upstairs and so it's easy
to siphon water from there onto the garden outside.

Well, I'm not sure most would consider the process 'easy', even if
they knew how in the first place etc. I think these days some with get
Ocardo to deliver bottled water [1] and get 'a little man' to water
their garden with that instead. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] Or the '4 for £1' lagers as volumetrically they are 1/4 the price
of bottled water ... but are mostly water ... ?

On Fri, 03 Aug 2018 12:42:09 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

snip

What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

And even if it was higher than your vegetable patch, how you would
start the siphon ... gag ;-(

Cheers, T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
If hosepipe bans really *did* outlaw you using water from the tap, after
being used for bath, for watering garden via a hosepipe, than there would
be
the problem of how else do you water a garden?

You don't? After all, if there is the hint of a ban why would you use
what is likely to be a valuable a rationed commodity on keeping plants
alive over humans (a slight exception would be your vegetable patch
possibly). 'Every little helps' etc?

Assuming that you still use a conventional amount of water for baths. If
things get really bad (stand pipes etc) then I agree that is the time to
have a shower more often and a bath less often.

If you collect rainwater, you
need to make sure the water butts are higher than the ground to be watered
or have a pump.

Mum has a pump in hers that will push water though two long hoses to
her front garden. ;-)

Oh, very posh and far-sighted. Most of use have to make do with a watering
can and a bit of flexible hose from the water butt because the butt has been
set up too low to get a watering can under the tap :-)

In contrast, bathrooms are usually upstairs and so it's easy
to siphon water from there onto the garden outside.

Well, I'm not sure most would consider the process 'easy', even if
they knew how in the first place etc. I think these days some with get
Ocardo to deliver bottled water [1] and get 'a little man' to water
their garden with that instead. ;-)

At my first house, I got into the habit of taking the hose pipe upstairs,
chucking the end out of the window, filling the pipe from the tap and then
putting it into the bathwater. Not because water was in short supply, but
just because it seemed a shame to let the water go to waste down the drain
instead of using it.


It seems absurd that 4-for-£1 lager is cheaper than bottled water. Bottled
water is nearly as much of a rip off, per unit volume, as inkjet ink.
Especially as the purists say that you should never refill a bottled-water
bottle from the tap, so the bottles are single-use. Not that we abide by
that. Wash the screw neck and the cap and refill the bottle - you can get
many usages out of the bottle before the plastic starts to crack. The only
time we buy bottled water is if we are out for a walk and have forgotten to
take a bottle of tapwater from home.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Aug 2018 12:42:09 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

snip

What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

And even if it was higher than your vegetable patch, how you would
start the siphon ... gag ;-(

LOL. Yuk.

It's a times like that I think of the statistic that water in some big
cities has passed several times through people's kidneys before finding its
way to the sea to go though the normal evaporation/rainfall cycle. I forget
how many times it is...

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 14:01:43 +0100, "NY" wrote:

snip

It's a times like that I think of the statistic that water in some big
cities has passed several times through people's kidneys before finding its
way to the sea to go though the normal evaporation/rainfall cycle. I forget
how many times it is...

I thought it was 7 for some reason?

Cheers, T i m

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 13:53:00 +0100, "NY" wrote:

"T i m" wrote in message
.. .
If hosepipe bans really *did* outlaw you using water from the tap, after
being used for bath, for watering garden via a hosepipe, than there would
be
the problem of how else do you water a garden?

You don't? After all, if there is the hint of a ban why would you use
what is likely to be a valuable a rationed commodity on keeping plants
alive over humans (a slight exception would be your vegetable patch
possibly). 'Every little helps' etc?

Assuming that you still use a conventional amount of water for baths. If
things get really bad (stand pipes etc) then I agree that is the time to
have a shower more often and a bath less often.

I rarely have a bath as I prefer not to wallow in my own dirt. ;-(

And what's wrong with a 'strip wash', just one basin of water used
there?

If you collect rainwater, you
need to make sure the water butts are higher than the ground to be watered
or have a pump.

Mum has a pump in hers that will push water though two long hoses to
her front garden. ;-)

Oh, very posh and far-sighted.

Well, I arranged it because I didn't like the idea of Mum wandering up
and down with a watering can ... that said, I don't think she uses
the pump / hose that often because 1) She's probably forgotten it's
there, 2) forgotten how to use it or 3) therefore prefers to wander up
and down with a watering can ... ;-(

Most of use have to make do with a watering
can and a bit of flexible hose from the water butt because the butt has been
set up too low to get a watering can under the tap :-)

We had 3 slimline water butts coupled together at the outlet taps and
to a length of hose with an inline tap to be able to fill watering
cans etc. Being as we gave up the garden as a garden we took them down
and replaced the rainwater converter with a straight coupler etc. One
is currently out the front and waiting for me to hook it up to next
doors downpipe, as our daughter has now taken over looking after their
garden. ;-)

In contrast, bathrooms are usually upstairs and so it's easy
to siphon water from there onto the garden outside.

Well, I'm not sure most would consider the process 'easy', even if
they knew how in the first place etc. I think these days some with get
Ocardo to deliver bottled water [1] and get 'a little man' to water
their garden with that instead. ;-)

At my first house, I got into the habit of taking the hose pipe upstairs,
chucking the end out of the window, filling the pipe from the tap and then
putting it into the bathwater. Not because water was in short supply, but
just because it seemed a shame to let the water go to waste down the drain
instead of using it.

Quite, especially if you are on a water meter. Although, if you are
charged for your waste water, some might want to get their moneys
worth by making them treat it again. ;-)


It seems absurd that 4-for-£1 lager is cheaper than bottled water.

Quite.

Bottled
water is nearly as much of a rip off, per unit volume, as inkjet ink.

Nearly the price of petrol!

Especially as the purists say that you should never refill a bottled-water
bottle from the tap,

Why not?

so the bottles are single-use.

Quite, however, they aren't all created equal with some feeling more
like stiff plastic bags rather than bottles as such (presumably for
still water only)?

Not that we abide by
that. Wash the screw neck and the cap and refill the bottle -

Yup. If we ever buy bottled water we generally buy it for the bottle
(flip top, reasonable size etc).

you can get
many usages out of the bottle before the plastic starts to crack.

Agreed.

The only
time we buy bottled water is if we are out for a walk and have forgotten to
take a bottle of tapwater from home.

Same here ... or if we have brought our own but not in a cooler and
really fancy a cold one (and another bottle).

I've just bought some watering spikes that screw onto certain drinks
bottles and then slowly water you plant. They only came this morning
but I'll try them soon.

I'm not sure how well they might work as a big funnel (with a pinhole
in the spike) or if they will rely on the container being a bottle
(therefore sealed) to restrict the flow?

Cheers, T i m

On 03/08/18 13:11, T i m wrote:
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 12:29:45 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 02/08/18 11:13, Dave Liquorice wrote:

The only thing I can think of is that it reduces the amount of water
in the sewage system. The ban really only affects water use that
wouldn't enter the sewage system under normal conditions.

But, of course, we are paying for it. I am using over 1000l twice a week
to water anything planted less than two years ago, and anything affected
by a couple of 60 ft trees. I don't mind paying for the water I use
(£1.31/ m^3), but I am very annoyed about lining the pockets of the
water company by paying for wastewater treatment (£2.27/m^3) where none
is involved.

What about those times when you add water to the system for them to
have to treat (when it rains) that you didn't buy off them?

That's surface water, which doesn't need treatment. But, of course,
anything bottled which is poured down the sink, bog cleaners, etc, does
need treatment and wasn't provided by the water company. I have always
assumed that this was taken into account by them when they came up with
the strange figure (IIRC) that 92.5% of water supplied via the mains
finds its way to the sewage works.

Had your house not been there it would have just gone into the ground?
;-)

snip

Cheers, T i m

--

Jeff

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 13:35:23 +0100, "NY" wrote:

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
. ..
What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

That assumes you have access to the outflow from the septic tank, and a
way
of pumping the water uphill from underground to above ground level to the
garden.

Open the inspection cover; lower in bucket on a rope; haul up filled
bucket, pour onto plants. Not that that's any easier than filling a
can from a tap, harder in fact, but I did say it would only be
appropriate in the extreme, for example if water was becoming so
scarce that whole areas of the country were being rationed and
stand-pipes were introduced.

I've never dared open the inspection cover of the septic tank. On a scale of
1-10, how bad is the pong, typically? What is the consistency of the
contents? Is it mainly liquid? I suppose it must be to be able to dip a
bucket into. I've always been a bit apprehensive of septic tanks and
cesspits after the farm where my parents used to store their caravan lost
one of their sons in a tragic accident: he went missing and the lid of the
tank was found to be off - he'd somehow fallen in. I can't think of a worse
way to die...



I'd forgotten how close we came to having standpipes in 1976. We lived in
Wakefield (*) and there was news footage of a "drought minister" at a
standpipe somewhere nearby (for some reason they chose Wakey for the news
photo opportunity). And with a few days to go, the heavens opened and the
drought minister became a flood minister.

I remember going on a summer school course near Windsor, and a) all the
windows had to be kept wide open to stop use melting, which meant teaching
was interrupted whenever a plane took off from Heathrow, and b) we weren't
allowed to use the swimming pool because they weren't allowed to keep the
statutory x% of fresh water flowing into it to mix with the majority which
was recirculated.


(*) I'm not sure where Wakefield gets its water from, but I presume it's
reservoirs rather than underground aquifers.

On 03/08/18 19:13, NY wrote:
"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 13:35:23 +0100, "NY" wrote:

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

That assumes you have access to the outflow from the septic tank, and
a way
of pumping the water uphill from underground to above ground level to
the
garden.

Open the inspection cover; lower in bucket on a rope; haul up filled
bucket, pour onto plants. Not that that's any easier than filling a
can from a tap, harder in fact, but I did say it would only be
appropriate in the extreme, for example if water was becoming so
scarce that whole areas of the country were being rationed and
stand-pipes were introduced.

I've never dared open the inspection cover of the septic tank. On a
scale of 1-10, how bad is the pong, typically? What is the consistency
of the contents? Is it mainly liquid? I suppose it must be to be able to
dip a bucket into. I've always been a bit apprehensive of septic tanks
and cesspits after the farm where my parents used to store their caravan
lost one of their sons in a tragic accident: he went missing and the lid
of the tank was found to be off - he'd somehow fallen in. I can't think
of a worse way to die...


Having grown up camping where you empty your elsan into a chemical
septic, they're not that bad. "Fruity" for sure.

However, that is one full of Elsan Blue/etc.

I suspect non chemical ones are somewhat fruitier.

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
I've never dared open the inspection cover of the septic tank. On a scale
of 1-10, how bad is the pong, typically?

Having grown up camping where you empty your elsan into a chemical septic,
they're not that bad. "Fruity" for sure.

However, that is one full of Elsan Blue/etc.

I suspect non chemical ones are somewhat fruitier.

I'd have thought that anywhere that you poured away the contents of an Elsan
would be protected by a U trap to prevent the sewer gases emerging at the
hole where you were pouring it.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Aug 2018 12:42:09 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

snip

What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

And even if it was higher than your vegetable patch, how you would
start the siphon ... gag ;-(

You use one of those funky things on aliexpress that allows
you to start the siphon without getting your mouth anywhere
near it, just by squeezing it with your hand.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car-...424c4d6ke P9b

On 03/08/18 19:13, NY wrote:
"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 13:35:23 +0100, "NY" wrote:

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
What you need is a septic tank. You pay for the water you use, in the
usual way, but not for its disposal, so total payments are roughly
halved compared to normal. And in the extreme, you have a source of
nutritious but smelly water for the garden if things get really
desperate. Not that I ever needed to use mine for that, and I wouldn't
recommend it for the veg garden!

That assumes you have access to the outflow from the septic tank, and
a way
of pumping the water uphill from underground to above ground level to
the
garden.

Open the inspection cover; lower in bucket on a rope; haul up filled
bucket, pour onto plants. Not that that's any easier than filling a
can from a tap, harder in fact, but I did say it would only be
appropriate in the extreme, for example if water was becoming so
scarce that whole areas of the country were being rationed and
stand-pipes were introduced.

I've never dared open the inspection cover of the septic tank. On a
scale of 1-10, how bad is the pong, typically?

There should be two chambers, the sludge collects in the first, the
liquid overflows into the second, from that it overflows into a
soakaway.. The second chamber of mine doesn't smell at all.




What is the consistency
of the contents? Is it mainly liquid? I suppose it must be to be able to
dip a bucket into. I've always been a bit apprehensive of septic tanks
and cesspits after the farm where my parents used to store their caravan
lost one of their sons in a tragic accident: he went missing and the lid
of the tank was found to be off - he'd somehow fallen in. I can't think
of a worse way to die...



I'd forgotten how close we came to having standpipes in 1976. We lived
in Wakefield (*) and there was news footage of a "drought minister" at a
standpipe somewhere nearby (for some reason they chose Wakey for the
news photo opportunity). And with a few days to go, the heavens opened
and the drought minister became a flood minister.

I remember going on a summer school course near Windsor, and a) all the
windows had to be kept wide open to stop use melting, which meant
teaching was interrupted whenever a plane took off from Heathrow, and b)
we weren't allowed to use the swimming pool because they weren't allowed
to keep the statutory x% of fresh water flowing into it to mix with the
majority which was recirculated.


(*) I'm not sure where Wakefield gets its water from, but I presume it's
reservoirs rather than underground aquifers.


--
djc

(–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿)
No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 14:01:43 +0100, "NY" wrote:

snip

It's a times like that I think of the statistic that water in some big
cities has passed several times through people's kidneys before finding
its
way to the sea to go though the normal evaporation/rainfall cycle. I
forget
how many times it is...

I thought it was 7 for some reason?

Bet that's a bogus number given that most of the water going
thru a particular house doesn't go thru anyone's kidneys, it just
goes into the bath or shower and down the drain etc.

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 19:13:23 +0100, NY wrote:

I've never dared open the inspection cover of the septic tank. On a
scale of 1-10, how bad is the pong, typically?

It's not really bad, "fruity" has been used, "sweet" "warm".

What is the consistency of the contents? Is it mainly liquid?

Depends on how long it's been since it was last pumped out, how big
it is and how many people are using it.

Recently had our large tank pumped out after about ten years and less
people than it's size can cater for. It was pretty full of "solids",
think 5 years would be about right. The bulk of the (two compartment)
tank should be water with a soft crust on top and solids in the
bottom.

A septic tank is anerobic and the outflow is pretty foul and has to
go into a buried soakaway. If you have a "klargester", ie a
mechanically stired and aerated system the out flow should be clean
enough to discharge into a water course.

--
Cheers
Dave.