Having had no rain in days, the garden lawn was looking a bit brown, so last week I decided to get out the old hosepipe and provide my grass with some much needed refreshment.
I must say, I didn’t spend all that long out there. The truth of the matter is that I felt a bit guilty splashing a lot of clean water onto the ground, knowing only too well the time and money that goes into purifying the stuff to make it fit enough to drink.
While I was out there doing my gardening chore, it appeared that the pressure of the water supply wasn’t quite as high as it usually is, which I put down to the fact that the local utility had lowered it due to the lack of water in the area.
Later that day, on my way to the local Shop and Save to pick up some groceries, I discovered the real reason for the drop in water pressure – it seemed that a main had burst further up the road and water was gushing into the road.
Being a responsible sort of chap, I phoned the water company to inform them of the problem. While they were pleased to receive my call, the pleasant young woman at the end of the phone explained that the leak had already been reported and that a team from the water company would be out to fix it within a minimum of two days.
Having interviewed Prof Dragan Savic from Exeter University just a few months earlier regarding his work developing computer software models that can help water companies to identify not only where potential leaks might occur, but even where they are occurring, I was well aware that input from leak reporters on the ground can provide water companies with the sort of invaluable data that can help them to fix such leaks in less than 12 hours.
Sadly, when I drove by the next day, I noticed that the leak had not been fixed and that water was still gushing out of the pipe. And, I’m sorry to report, it appeared that the day after that was no different. Yes, the water folks appeared to have placed some sort of plastic barrier around the leaky pipe, but the water was still spilling out into the road. The problem had clearly not been fixed.
Unhappily then, it would appear that while the water companies have plenty of available technology to help spot where such leaks are occurring, when it comes to the man- and woman-power available to actually go out there and fix them, they seem a bit lacking.
So next time the grass starts to look a bit brown, I shall go forth and water it for as long as it takes for it to return to its lush resplendent state. After all, if the water companies don’t care about wasting water, I don’t see why I should.
Dave Wilson
Editor, Engineeringtalk
Dave’s comments form part of the weekly Engineeringtalk newsletter, which also includes a round-up of the latest engineering products and services. To subscribe click here
Just don’t cut your lawn so short. The grass is then long enough (3-4 inchesh) to retain the moisture in the soil and you don’t have to water it, it can withstand someone walking/playing football on it better and you’ve got more time to spend on something useful. Cutting your lawn so short so that it goes brown in the UK climate is simply irresponsible.
Ever heard the comment ” two ‘wrongs’ don t make a right?”
Water is far too important to be petty. Cause a fuss, pester the water company, get it into the national press, get it put right, don t just make it worse.
We re all concerned about the end of oil supply, but thats nothing compared to being without water.
It highlights the fact that water is by far the cheapest utility – cheap enough to “waste” on watering grass.
Mr Collins obviously does not do a lot of mowing. My mower has settings from 2″ down to 1/2″ so “cutting” it to 3-4″ is not really possible. Anyway, who wants a (decorative) lawn with 4″ long grass? Lawn grasses adapt to the size that they are cut to, so leaving them this long would allow the coarser grasses to take over. the theory is good, but this suggestion is not practical.
Anyway I like cutting my lawn, it gets me out.
Dave, I wouldn’t feel too bad. Your green grass is sucking up CO2 and giving off O2. That is a good thing. Your water is not watested, it just goes back where it came from and we start all over again.
Now if someone could just come up with a way to “purify” our city water without poisoning it with chlorine and floride…
Get used to short, straw coloured grass people! In South Africa on the highvelt (the inland bit above 5000ft where most of the GPD comes from) we do this every winter. Blue skies, no cloud, warm days and cold nights AND no rain untill summer….beautiful! Over population (mostly people who don’t know about and definitely don’t care about the old 2.4 children/family statistic) will, within 30/40 years, make the needs of the population for water in the northern hemisphere so high,(with the availability too low) your governments will probably ban private lawns and offer a rebate for concreting your gardens!
In the Middle East we had two supplies, one in the garden, brackish well water, and a separate one in the house, desalinated water from a reverse osmosis plant.
I am with the editor on this one.
It is very hypochritical of the water companies to berate their paying customers for wasting water when so little of the treated water actualy reaches our taps.
What support would there be for petrol companies criticising their customers for using their product while delivering it in leaky tankers.
Well, at least the leaky water mains water the grass 😉
Dear Mr Wilson,
If you must water your garden may I suggest you do it at dusk when condensation is forming? This will be of much benefit to your roses and humanity.
Regards.