Water Wars

Water shortage is not just a problem in hot countries. Incredibly even in rain soaked Britain we are now getting short of water and it will get worse. Either we process and store more or we use less. Using less is the cheaper option, but how do you achieve it? Water meters are an inevitability and, if you charge enough, people will be more frugal but generally the evidence has been that when people get used to the bills they tend to slip back into bad habits.

What are bad habits? Using a full flush on the loo when you have only had a pee, having a bath rather than a short shower. Leaving a garden sprinkler going. You can't rely on people to do the right thing. The WC has been redesigned to use less water even in the full flush mode and the shower is now about to follow. After years of customers demanding more and more powerful showers they are going to have to get used to something with a lot less oomph. They aren't going to like it.

New Building Regulations Document G will attempt to design in water saving to limit water consumption to 125 litres per person per day. This will mean fitting showers and other water fittings that limit the flow rate. Using grey water, or pre loved water as I prefer to call it, to flush your loos will be one way of saving your allocation for more important things such as drinking and washing

I suspect that what will happen is the same thing that happens with loos. You put a certain type in to meet the regulations and then, when the building has been signed off, you change it, either with a new shower, or by carrying out some small modification such as removing a flow restrictor.

The only way that this will be detected is if some official carries out a spot check. The idea that the 'Water Police' will raid your house is of course farcical. They would need grounds for suspicion. "Yes your honour he just looked too clean".

The new legislation also introduces the possibility of a trade off. You can keep your water guzzling shower if you can show savings elsewhere. We have seen this slightly farcical concept in carbon trading where we continue our excessive consumption by buying someone elses share. So find somebody who uses less water and you can take their share. Sort of sponsor a soap dodger. Buying credits from dirty people is all very well but you will have to sniff them out.