Hosepipe Ban

Usually during a ban you can fill a garden pond if it contains fish, I believe?
They are considered livestock.

 

Well that a plus @pete can I keep filling the pond whilst all the while using the "pond water" to water my plants...seems like I've found a grey area (aka) technical loophole in the hose hahahahahahahaha

 

You can only use the pond water for watering plants if you use a watering can, so kind of defeats the object.

 

My first introduction to the hosepipe ban was in Harry Potter books years before we moved to England. How very exotic, a small island drenched in rain having to limit domestic water usage! During the 11 years we have been here we have never had one, what a disappointment from exotic experience perspective.

This summer I'm very conscious about the amount of drinking water I'm pouring into the soil as we have a record drought combined with new flower beds and young plants

We have 2 10l watering cans so I know we now use at least 300l drinking water every day just to keep the plants alive. I do try to be smart i.e. give a proper drenching to more established young plants every other day rather than a shallow watering every day- but the seedlings and younglings need their 5cm deep daily in this heat. The lawns get emergency soak once in a fortnight on worst areas which are bone dry and feel like concrete. The areas which look ok-ish will just have to cope.

Our main drainpipe is on neighbours' side for some reason and water butt wouldn't help as it hasn't rained for over a month now. The kitchen sink drains in a way that I might be able to collect the water, but giving detergent- laced water to struggling plants might kill them.

So here we are, having a family gettogether every night filling the watering cans, optimising the watered spots and getting serious abdominal muscle toning. (Here's a recent selfie of me and my daughter... sorry you can't see the watering cans nor the plants very well. )



I wish we had a proper rain soon. The amount of drinking water we now use feels very wasteful. Then again, the lovely weather is brill, can I please have the best of both worlds? Rain at night and sunny days? Please?

 

What's wrong with using watering cans ? If my 85 year old mother can do it with the use of only one arm I'm sure many of you could too.

 

Kazza these won't be stopping here at all...sprinklers been doing the back tonight then hubby hosed front garden besides washing his cars plus showers galore ….i'm not going tramp style for any water company

 

Selleri at least it's giving you a break from drawing on the cactus plants

 

Now that did make me chuckle @Gail_68

 

I should eat my words mate...just been on the cactus discussion and he's been drawing on them there

 

I noticed them earlier on that's why it made me laugh

 

I should look again at my comment

 

What about dog paddling pools?

 

This kind of weather shows the problems associated with the constant need for more homes and water extraction from rivers.
Our local stream runs dry not through Mother Nature but water extraction and a few years back the EA spent a fair bit on the stream to introduce more river life then another branch gave the go ahead to extract water meaning it ran dry. The no fishing sign on a dry bed summed it up.
They want in my area 10000 new homes and this will just keep putting pressure on the local rivers.

 

An old article on sneaky but legal ways to keep your garden green during a hosepipe ban

Hosepipe ban: Some sneaky but legal ways to keep your garden green | This is Money