Filling the Water Butt with a hosepipe?

One of my friends told me the other day that her husband had spoken to the water board (SE Water) and had been told that it was perfectly OK to use a hose to fill the water butt although we have a hosepipe ban. They then "dunk" the watering can in the top of the water butt which is of course much quicker than filling the can from the tap. Does anyone else do this?

 

I do, but we have no hosepipe ban as of yet. I use the water for the plants which do not need rain water.

 

These rules and regulations are so arbitrary it's hard to take them seriously. I'm lucky that we have no hosepipe ban, and I have 5 water butts dotted about the garden. When I need to use the hosepipe I do- I offered to have a meter fitted but Wessex Water told me that because my cottage is so small, and I live alone it would make very little difference.

 

Well (that's a very deep subject), I've certainly had some laughs on here this morning! :D A short hose ???? what, do you waste less water? Maybe this a ploy by the Water Authorities to get people fitter by hoiking watering cans around!

 

It makes no sense at all - they are all bonkers at the water authorities - apparently its fine to pressure wash your hard surfaces or your car even when there's a hosepipe ban - I think they are all to busy writing zeros on the end of the chairman's pay cheque to think straight! What do they consider to be a "short" hose anyway????

 

I'm am not in any way trying to condone the ridiculous water company rules, but maybe the specify a short hose so that you're not walking 500m with the hosepipe running to get to the thing you're filling.

I think it should be legal to use a hosepipe with a trigger tap on the end, I don't see how that differs from using a watering can - other than not giving you a bad back.

 

I e-mailed mid kent water to find out if I could use a hose when mixing concrete, the reply was yes (btw. we do have a ban) but I'm not allowed to use a hose to fill a water butt or wash a car.
I went round a local garden centre recently and hoses were running all the time, OK, but they were leaking like crazy and the water was just running all over the place. But they can do that because its their buisness.
I think we should all get some kind of refund.

 

It now seems that you cannot fill rainwater butts with a hose. That contradicts advice posted earlier. Scanning the websites of the various hose banning water authorities it seems that you can fill a watering can with a short hose, but not a butt. You can top up a pond and a swimming pool with any length of hose, but not a butt One law for rich pool owners and another for the rest of us You can water a golf course but not an allotment - so ball games are more important than food?

I can fill my watering can from an exterior tap as many times as I like. I can fill my can from my pond as many times as I like and then top up my pond. So if I treat my pond as a giant butt I'm ok? Bureaucrats! Not a ha'porth of sense between the lot of them.

 

Dig yourself a pond dude! or get a prefab pool for the summer. We have no ban but I sure as hell wouldn't stop using the hose in favour of commercial priority. All my bog plants are in back filled ponds does that count ? Tescos sell 12x12 rigid frame swiming pools online (or at least they used to) if you got room surely there are loop holes us garders of crops and lush specimens can exploit when the rainbutts aren't enough.

BM

 

or you could be really sneaky
Install an underground hose and have the connection to the waterbutt on the bottom inside the base.
Don`t forget to fit a float valve to prevent it overflowing

 

Hex is sneaky, I like. I was planning on doing a hidden irigation system during the winter so who would know if the tap was turned on ?

 

Shiney, Essex and Suffolk and Anglian Water No plans for a ban either as I am aware. This is most ironic being the driest part of the country. Im sure there are ways and means of tending your gardens. Your neighbours would have to be pretty nasty pasties to inform on you, especially if in the same boat.