SIR, Re: Waste of Water

On driving to Malvern Showground at 8am on Wednesday June 13, I noticed a fire hydrant with water bubbling out of it, draining into the roadside ditch on the road off the B4211 from The Rhydd to Hanley Swan. I assumed, incorrectly it seems, that someone must have reported the leak to Severn Trent, as a blue arrow had been chalked on the road beside the hydrants yellow plate.

On making the same journey on Thursday June 14, the leak was still bubbling water out at a rate of several gallons a minute, I surmised, so I called the Severn Trent emergency line to advise the company of the need to attend to it promptly. The girl/lady on the telephone could not apparently identify the hydrant in question as her maps did not show The Rhydd, but would log the call for engineers to attend within 24 hours.

This morning, 8am Monday June 18, I drove again to Malvern Showground to see the water still bubbling from the hydrant into the ditch. However, at about 9.30am I returned from Malvern to see a Highways Maintenance lorry setting up traffic lights prior to Severn Trent’s engineers working to fix the leak.

I wonder how many gallons of water were wasted over that 5 days of inactivity by Severn Trent. I also wonder why I pay water rates based on usage, when that leak would probably have provided me with water for the next 20 years of domestic supply!

TONY HARRIS

Worcester.