Hose pipes are the long pipes made out of rubber or more recently stronger materials that carry water from a tap to the nozzle of the hose, allowing the water to wash cars or water plants. There are many different types of hosepipe available, and many different uses for one, but they all function similarly. Extensions can make the water spray or simply gush out, and hosepipes can be attached to sprinklers to evenly distribute water around a certain area.
A hosepipe is most often pictured as a tool for either car washing or garden watering. They are ideal for both uses. They are more efficient than a watering can when it comes to watering plants, and better than buckets of water when it comes to washing a car. It can be argued that it is perhaps better to use these more primitive devices than a hosepipe, as they promote more efficient usage of water. For example, a garden may require two watering cans worth of water. Someone watering this garden with a watering can would fill the can twice and that would be it. Someone using a hosepipe however may just liberally spray water over the garden. A lot can be wasted. This applies to almost any application of a hosepipe. It saves time but it promotes wastage.
Due to the nature of a hosepipe, many bans have come into place in the United Kingdom when water wasn’t so readily available. It was decided that hosepipes were too wasteful, and their purposes weren’t essential enough to justify the amount of water they used that could go to thirsty people. Laws regarding usage of hosepipes were put into place in 1945, and only updated in the autumn of 2007.
During particularly hot summers and dry winters, the United Kingdom has faced numerous droughts in history. This has resulted in water shortages for many of the water companies in the country, and they have imposed hosepipe bans on their regions as a way to cope. These measures have received mixed reactions, and have been subject to much controversy. During the summer of 2006, many large companies made the news when they imposed bans on their regions.
This was unheard of in larger companies, and affected a large number of people. Many complained that the shortage was due to the aged piping systems in the London area, and felt it was unfair that restrictions were placed upon their water usage as a result of the water companies’ negligence.