News Walthamstow

Town Hall fountain turning off amid hosepipe ban

The fountain will turn off next Wednesday until the ban ends
By Waltham Forest Echo

The new fountain outside Waltham Forest Town Hall (credit: WF Council)
The new fountain outside Waltham Forest Town Hall (credit: WF Council)

The popular fountain at Waltham Forest Town Hall will be turned off when the hosepipe ban begins next week.

Earlier this week, Thames Water announced a temporary ban across London will begin next Wednesday, 24th August, after the driest July since 1885.

People will not be permitted to use hosepipes for cleaning cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling paddling pools and swimming pools or cleaning windows.

Ornamental fountains and swimming or paddling pools are also affected by the ban, which means Waltham Forest Council will turn off its popular water feature.

In an announcement today, a council spokesperson said they had hoped to be able to keep the fountain as it “uses mainly recycled water”.

However, they said: “Thames Water has advised us otherwise and we will obviously comply with current regulations.”

The new fountain was installed as part of the £25million refurbishment of the town hall completed last summer.

Since then, the fountain and light show, which takes place approximately hourly throughout the day, has been immensely popular with local children.

Earlier this week, Thames Water chief executive Sarah Bentley said the ban was “a very difficult decision to make and one which we have not taken lightly”.

She added: “After months of below average rainfall and the recent extreme temperatures in July and August, water resources in our region are depleted.

“Despite investing in the largest leakage reduction programme in the UK, customer demand is at unprecedented levels and we now have to move into the next phase of our drought plan to conserve water, mitigate further risk and futureproof supplies.

“I’d like to thank all of our customers for the efforts they have already made to conserve water as a result of the media campaign we have been running since May. Reducing demand means reducing the amount of water we have to take from the environment at a time when it is under pressure.

“I would also like to apologise to our customers who have been affected by recent incidents, our dedicated colleagues are working around the clock to manage this challenging situation.”


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