MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Laughable advice from utilities to save water instead of showers,” UK customers

UK customers have been given some extravagant advice: use damp towels or spray bottles instead of showers during the dry summer.

Water supplies in the UK have been seriously reduced because of recent heat waves and a lack of rain forcing some utilities to introduce hosepipe bans in some areas to save water resources.

But as the situation worsens UK customers have been given some extravagant advice: use damp towels or spray bottles instead of showers during the dry summer.

But customers say the pieces of advice water companies are giving are “laughable,” including looking up a four-minute-long song to take a shower or collecting the cold water in the shower until the water heats up, the Mail on Sunday reports. Other advice includes using oak barrels to collect rainwater.

Cat Hobbs, a campaigner at We Own It, which calls for water companies to be put into public ownership, told Mail on Sunday: “Are the firms competing to offer the daftest advice? Who has an oak barrel, even if there was any chance of rain to fill it? 'Water firms' hypocrisy is incredible.”  

Customers and campaigners accuse water utilities of paying millions of pounds to their bosses and shareholders while giving “daft” advice to people to save resources.