Shropshire facing hosepipe ban
Wednesday 8th June 2011, 6:28PM BST.
Shropshire could be facing a summer hosepipe ban, bosses at Severn Trent admitted today. The firm said there was an “increasing likelihood” of a ban unless there was extended rainfall.
A spokeswoman for the water company said: “Severn Trent today confirmed there is an increasing likelihood of water restrictions in some parts of the region, including Shropshire, unless we see a return to seasonal average rainfall within the near future.
“The combination of the long dry spell and increased customer demand has put pressure on supply resources.”
But leaders at the GMB union today blamed a “mismanagement” of resources for the potential ban.
The GMB said it believed Severn Trent would announce a hosepipe ban in two weeks’ time and claimed a new computer system had led to “complete confusion” in the scheduling of repair work, leading to huge losses of water from reservoirs.
Union national officer Gary Smith said: “The management will blame the weather and will seek to divert attention from their own mismanagement that will lead to a hosepipe ban in two weeks unless we get heavy rain.”
But Severn Trent’s spokeswoman said leakages were now back on target and at least 50 per cent of all leaks were fixed within its three-day target.
She added: “The introduction of any major computer system is challenging but we refute entirely the suggestion that the situation is a result of the introduction of SAP (the computer system) or mismanagement. It is directly due to the exceptionally dry spring and increased customer demand. Key reservoirs were full at the end of February.”
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