Hose Pipe Ban: How To Cope

In the summer, the dry weather can play an important part of how water companies react; some enforce hose pipe bans, which is a way to reduce the amount of water used, often for activities that aren’t considered essential, such as car cleaning. This is difficult for many people, who use hose pipes for various tasks during the hot and dry summer months.

A hose pipe can deliver a lot of water over a short period to concentrated areas, it is an unnecessary use of water.  By using smaller quantities of water, the task is often just as successful.

 

Being Prepared For A Hose Pipe Ban

With the increase of the summer time temperatures and the impact this can have on the water table, it is good practice to save water at times of heavy rainfall. The ideal storage system, if you are looking to keep your garden hydrated during summer months, are water butts. These collect the water that normally goes down the drain, reducing the amount of wastage of perfectly serviceable water.

Tips For Effective Watering

If you have saved the water for those dry months, getting the most from your water-butt is important and there are some great tips that can reduce the amount of water you use.

• Water in the evening to avoid evaporation by the sun.
• Dig moats around plants and shrubs so that water goes to the this area and not running off to a less important area.
• Mulch the base of your plants, this reduces the evaporation process and suppresses the weeds that will use the water you are providing, with which to grow.
• Don’t water the grass, it is a waste of water, it will recover and the reduction in water means less cutting too.
• Consider which plants needs water and only water these, not all plants will need the extra water.

Grey Water Use

If you are looking to recycle some of the water that you have used in your home, this could reduce the amount of fresh water. However, it is important to note that grey water is not safe to drink and it is very difficult to store, it will quickly become smelly due to the foreign particles in the water.

It is not advisable to use grey-water to water plants which you are going to harvest and eat; the high concentration of particles in the grey water can cause the build-up of toxins in the plant.

It is possible to clean some of the pollutants out of the grey water, but this is expensive and you would need to consider the cost effectiveness of the procedure and the amount of money it is saving you.

The most natural way to clean water from organic material, which is found in bath water is through a reed bed, the bacteria is able to filter off making the water cleaner. However, this process of cleaning the water and getting it back for the different areas is not always a practical solution.

It is possible to protect your garden in the summer months from the effects of a hose pipe ban; however, it is going to take time to plan. Whilst it is possible to use a bucket or a watering can to do most of the tasks around the garden whilst the ban is in place, what you won’t be able to accomplish is filling a swimming pool.

Therefore, careful consideration as to the needs of your garden and how you are going to manage when a hose pipe ban is in place.