The Daily Telegraph is reporting a number of water companies are being accused by plumbers’ groups of turning down the mains pressure and thereby threatening boilers and power showers.

The newspaper reminds its readers that Ofwat, the water industry regulator, has already fined a number of water companies, notably Severn Trent and Southern Water, for giving false information, not reducing bills and telling porkies about leaks.

And it quotes two major plumbing firms which say that complaints about water pressure are on the increase, about five times what they were three years ago.

The plumbers feel frustrated because low mains water pressure means a boiler will not fire up properly and the consumer calls out a plumber to investigate. By the time they arrive, the pressure has reverted back to its normal levels, but the customer still has to pay the call-out charge, causing ill-feeling all around.

And the plumbers are saying customers feel that Ofwat, hard on the water companies in many areas, are not taking the problem seriously enough.

It’s pointed out if a customer sees their water supply drop below a certain level for more than an hour on two occasions in a month, they can claim £25 in compensation. But to prove their case, a customer is required to time how long it takes to fill a gallon of water into a bucket.

How many consumers will be bothered to conduct such tests, plus all the necessary paperwork, for a £25 refund remains to be seen, but a number of water companies asked for their opinion seemed to downplay the issues involved.

One replied that water pressure changes were designed not to help the water companies themselves, but the consumer. They point out that a too high water pressure causes many more problems, mainly leaking joints and pipes. And if they have to reduce water pressure on certain grids, then they let customers know when it’s to happen.

Another water company said they had reduced leakage by a quarter in the last four years and one way they did this was to ‘stabilise’ water pressure. Whether the word stabilise means decrease wasn’t clear, but with complaints rising all the time, it will remain a problem for plumbers and their customers for some time.

An Ofwat official was quoted as saying:
“Companies work hard to maintain pressure within an optimal range so that it is neither too high nor too low.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp