Water thieves 'put lives at risk'
The company says the practice is costing it millions of litres in lost water - and putting lives at risk by jeopardising firefighters' ability to tackle blazes.
Yorkshire Water estimates it is currently losing up to 20 million litres of
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of 142,857 customers or the same volume of water contained in eight
Olympic swimming pools - as a result of such activity.
The unusually dry conditions experienced across much of the region over
the last few months, coupled with the challenging operating conditions
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Hide Admany businesses now face, appears to have exacerbated the problem, with
water theft in the region predicted to have reached an all time high
last month with an estimated 25 million litres of water likely
to have been illegally siphoned from hydrants over just 31 days.
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Hide AdHowever, whilst the amount of water illegally abstracted from hydrants
is rapidly growing, the company has seen a big drop in the number of
reported incidents of such abuse – indicating that either many
incidents are going unreported or that a smaller number of hydrant
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Between January and July 2010, Yorkshire Water has had reports of 78
separate incidents of hydrant abuse, compared with last year when 207
incidents were reported.
In South Yorkshire there have been a total of 23 reported cases of
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Hide Adhydrant abuse with five in Rotherham, 12 in Sheffield and three each in Doncaster and Barnsley.
"Cases in Sheffield include a demolition company who illegally tapped
into a fire hydrant on Errington Crescent to abstract water to suppress
dust on a work site," said Melanie Dawson, manager of Yorkshire Water’s
standpipe scheme.
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Hide Ad"As the company was using a regulation equipment and in possession of a
licence, we decided not to prosecute but just to issue them with an
official caution and advise them on the error of their ways."
Many companies - from window cleaners through to road sweepers and
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Hide Addrain jetters - need access to water to be able to carry out their work
and do this legally by using standpipes which comply with the necessary
regulations.
This gives them the right to access the plentiful supply of wash out
hydrants, which are clearly marked by the letters ‘WO’. Fire hydrants
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Hide Ad– which are clearly marked with the letters ‘FH’ – should only ever be
used by the emergency services and not by anybody else.
Businesses illegally accessing both third party and fire hydrants
without the proper equipment or permission risk not only damaging the
hydrant – and thus endangering liives - but also potentially
causing discolouration to the public water supply or even
disruptions to water supplies.
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Hide AdMelanie Dawson, who manages Yorkshire Water’s standpipe scheme,
comments: “At a time when most people are doing their bit to conserve
water, it’s shocking to think that the actions of a small minority of
illegal operators are costing the region millions of litres in lost or
wasted water.
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Hide Ad“From previous cases of hydrant abuse, we know that most businesses
that are caught know that they are in the wrong. However, the
temptation to save money during these difficult economic times, along
with the fact that water is in high demand following the driest sprint
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Hide Adand summer in decades, has meant that many businesses continue to tap
into hydrants without a licence or the correct equipment.
“We want them to know that their actions can have extremely serious
consequences. Not only do they risk damaging fire hydrants, and
consequently endangering human lives, but their actions can also lead
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worst can affect thousands of people."
.
In the last eight months Yorkshire Water has successfully prosecuted
five businesses found to be illegally tapping into fire or third-party
hydrants, with offenders receiving a maximum £1,000 fine per offence
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Hide Adplus legal costs. It has also issued more than two dozen cautions to businesses across the region in the past
year.
Businesses are required to use a metered standpipe which is no more
than an inch in diameter. It is estimated that someone using an
illegal three-inch standpipe could abstract about 1,000 litres of water
in less than a minute.
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Hide AdMembers of the public should report any instances where they suspect
illegal use of the water supply to contact Yorkshire Water on 01274
804457.
Businesses wishing to know more about the regulations can also
call this number. Regulated metered standpipes can be obtained only
through Yorkshire Water at an annual cost of £567 +VAT or just £16.50
+VAT a week. Users then pay for any water they extract on a monthly
basis.