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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Changes to hosepipe bans unveiled | Changes to hosepipe bans unveiled |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| People in England and Wales could be forbidden to fill pools and clean patios with a hose during a drought under plans to toughen hosepipe bans. | |
| The bans already cover washing cars and watering gardens with a hosepipe. | The bans already cover washing cars and watering gardens with a hosepipe. |
| School pools and pools for medical use will be exempt from the rules next spring, but water companies may forbid the use of a hose to wash windows. | |
| Environment Minister Phil Woolas said the existing law was inconsistent and left gardeners feeling "singled out". | |
| The dry weather of 2005 and 2006 led to empty reservoirs and hosepipe bans that affected about 13 million people. | The dry weather of 2005 and 2006 led to empty reservoirs and hosepipe bans that affected about 13 million people. |
| Mr Woolas said: "We saw an extreme drought in the south east then, and outdated legislation meant gardeners couldn't water their plants with a hosepipe, but their neighbours could power-wash their patios or fill swimming pools. | Mr Woolas said: "We saw an extreme drought in the south east then, and outdated legislation meant gardeners couldn't water their plants with a hosepipe, but their neighbours could power-wash their patios or fill swimming pools. |
| "That situation was clearly inconsistent and illogical." | "That situation was clearly inconsistent and illogical." |
| Jacuzzis | Jacuzzis |
| The changes will introduce a "discretionary use ban", leaving it up to individual water companies to decide which water-related activities to prohibit. | The changes will introduce a "discretionary use ban", leaving it up to individual water companies to decide which water-related activities to prohibit. |
| Firms will not have to consult ministers in order to act and could also stop people using hot tubs and jacuzzis, operating ornamental ponds and fountains and using pressure hoses. | Firms will not have to consult ministers in order to act and could also stop people using hot tubs and jacuzzis, operating ornamental ponds and fountains and using pressure hoses. |
| The plain fact is we can no longer use drinking water for luxuries at times of crisis Phil Woolas | The plain fact is we can no longer use drinking water for luxuries at times of crisis Phil Woolas |
| But gardeners maintaining registered collections of plants will be allowed to water them. | But gardeners maintaining registered collections of plants will be allowed to water them. |
| Mr Woolas said the country had to rely on individual "goodwill" during times of drought. | Mr Woolas said the country had to rely on individual "goodwill" during times of drought. |
| "But that goodwill can disappear very quickly when there are blatant anomalies and people feel they are being unfairly singled out," he added. | "But that goodwill can disappear very quickly when there are blatant anomalies and people feel they are being unfairly singled out," he added. |
| Earlier, Mr Woolas told the Sunday Telegraph: "The plain fact is we can no longer use drinking water for luxuries at times of crisis. | Earlier, Mr Woolas told the Sunday Telegraph: "The plain fact is we can no longer use drinking water for luxuries at times of crisis. |
| "These new measures may seem harsh to some but future droughts, especially in southern England, are inevitable and we have to act.'' | "These new measures may seem harsh to some but future droughts, especially in southern England, are inevitable and we have to act.'' |