How wet excuses dripped from the lips of water chiefs

Clare Garner on the bosses who washed their hands of blame

EVEN when the rain came down at last, and the umbrellas shot up, the privatised water companies still had their excuses ready. Yes, they said, this was indeed rain. But it was the wrong sort of rain: it was falling in all the wrong places. That is why people in Yorkshire face having their water cut off on a rota basis.

It has been like that all summer, as rainless month succeeded rainless month, and water restrictions affected more and more areas of the country

The water companies could not provide water but, sometimes assisted by the ministers who had supported privatisation, they proved expert in providing a remarkable range of excuses. Statistics, consumers, Europe, social and moral values - all were, at various times, to blame. But never, it seemed, the companies themselves.

They started out very confident, dismissing the possibility that there would be any shortage at all. "We would think it highly improbable that there would be any ban this summer," predicted the Water Services Association, which represents the 10 big privatised water companies, at the end of March, after a wet winter.

Even at the end of June, the National Rivers Authority reported that water levels were "above average for the time of year" despite "exceptionally high peak demands".

By August, however, the companies' tune had changed and excuses were - how shall we say? - dripping from their lips. Here is a selection:

Statistics

"The industry is getting a lot of flak because it is having to adjust to a drought which is, depending on where you are, either a one-in-50 or a one-in-200-years event.

"We cannot possibly adjust our capital-spend programme to a one-in-200- years event because for up to 199 years we would have capital tied up doing nothing, customers' bills would be huge and the benefits would be negligible." Nicholas Hood, chairman of Wessex Water and chairman of the Water Services Association.

"What we have experienced is one-in-1,000-years water conditions." Yorkshire Water.

"If they want us to treble bills and dig up Yorkshire, turning it into a sort of Somme, we could create a network that would meet any eventuality.

"Our customers would not want this scale of disruption just to meet an exceptional hot, dry spell that comes once in a blue moon." Yorkshire Water.

Politics

"Leaking pipes are the result of underfunding under years of Labour and Conservative governments.

"We are now trying to put right what went wrong over 70 years." Michael Hoffman, chief executive of Thames Water.

"The main priority of the industry's capital-investment programmes has been to comply with European Union directives on water quality.

"A number of companies have complained to me that they would have liked to have spent more on replacing pipes, but they have been told that other areas are more important." Robin Garrett, head of engineering, Water Services Association.

Too much bathing and showering

"Ten years ago, people had one bath a week. Now it's at least once a day." Spokesperson for Thames Water.

"I have not had a bath or shower for three months and nobody has noticed. You can wash adequately in half a bowl of water." Trevor Newton. head of Yorkshire Water.

"Most families in Norfolk live within half an hour's drive of the sea; it would make a nice day out for a regular dip." Kenneth Rowse, Norfolk's divisional water engineer, proposing that people should bath in the North Sea.

Too much gardening

"All the research shows that it is profligate use of water in lawn watering that is probably the biggest problem." Vice-chairman of the Water Services Association.

"In some areas, customers are using water faster than we can treat it and get to them.

"This is almost wholly down to inconsiderate use of sprinklers and hosepipes." Terry Tricker, Severn Trent's director of customer service.

"It is like the surge in electricity demand when people put on the kettle at half-time in the cup final." Senior water official.

Moral and social decline

"The reality is that people do not value water in the way they value gas and electricity. Everybody knows that it makes good sense to economise with gas and electricity.

"Why do people not feel the same way about water?" Gerry MacGriogair, a spokesman for Yorkshire Water.

"The old municipal attitude when we all shared the water and shared the shortage is going.

"In 1976 people made big savings in water use even in regions where there was no shortage." David Kinnersley, former water authority chief executive and ministerial adviser on privatisation.

To be fair, Mr Kinnersley then added: "Because of all the huge profits and salaries, the public's attitude is: why should we help to dig them out of their scrapes? Droughts are the time when we need to water the garden more - so they should provide the water."

Poor washing-up technique

"When you do the washing-up, you use a bowl. You don't just let the water run over the things. In washing you have a basin. That is why a bowl refers to washing-up." John Gummer, Secretary of State for Environment.

Questioned further, Mr Gummer said: "I have no idea of the colour of my washing-up bowl. What a question! It is a perfectly normal washing- up bowl like everybody else's! Of a plastic variety."

The price is wrong

"Water is so cheap that the industry cannot justify spending huge amounts on leaks." Martin Hall, Water Research Centre.

Everything is against us

"We have old cities, old pipes and in many parts peaty water, which is corrosive." Gerry MacGriogair, Yorkshire Water.

You're all whingeing too much

"Very lovely weather it is, first time in 20 years we have the weather as good as this. Let's stop whingeing and get on.

"I am merely trying to inject some common sense, which everybody seems to have missed out on this issue." John Gummer.

Leading article, page 20