Guernsey harbour Authority ban hoses on pontoons

[Laurie]

? Initially I thought, how bizarre, how unnecessary?

Bu then I recalled all those thousands over the decades who have fallen sick or heaven forbid, worse, from polluted hosepipes on pontoons...I mean sometimes you can't walk down a pontoon for collapsed bodies, and that IS dangerous! No, good move I say; now, get that water out of marinas and harbours, before someone falls in....

 

[elton]

It's not their fault. It's the law. There've been several threads on the topic, yet everyone seems surprised when it happens.

 

[Laurie]

It's not their fault. It's the law. There've been several threads on the topic, yet everyone seems surprised when it happens.

Law? Must be right then.....

No seriously, I wasn't specifically blaming them...but thinking about it, I will.
Having worked in that field, I'm not aware of any such legislation, but always willing to be corrected. In which case we can look forward to universal hose removal?
Certainly there's no legislative requirement within H and S assessments for the banning that I have been aware of.

 

[elton]

I guess marinas don't want to be sued by insurance companies when someone gets ill and the hoses are found to be dirty.

 

[prv]

Law? Must be right then.....

No seriously, I wasn't specifically blaming them...but thinking about it, I will.
Having worked in that field, I'm not aware of any such legislation, but always willing to be corrected. In which case we can look forward to universal hose removal?
Certainly there's no legislative requirement within H and S assessments for the banning that I have been aware of.

It's not an HSE thing, it's water regulations. They've been around for yonks, but apparently unenforced until recently. You're not supposed to have any situation where a hose connected directly to the mains might dangle into non-potable water.

Removal has not been "universal", but it's far from uncommon either. Apparently you've only just noticed, but actually Guernsey is somewhat late to the party, not a harbinger of things to come. Whether a particular marina has done it or not depends on their local water company.

Pete

 

[Bodach na mara]

Lots of marinas have removes hoses and others have warnings about "not using the hose to deliver drinking water." Apart from the legislation, there are other reasons for using your own hose.
1. You know that dogs have not been peeing on it (I hope.)
2. You don't use it to siphon diesel.
3. You have not left it dangling in the water (and I don't mean the drinking stuff.)
4. You have not forced it through your bog outlet pipe to unblock it.
5. It has not been lying about for hours in the sun half full of water. Or anything else.

You may think some of these possibilities are far-fetched Laurie. Believe me they are only the ones that I know have happened.

 

[JumbleDuck]

No seriously, I wasn't specifically blaming them...but thinking about it, I will.
Having worked in that field, I'm not aware of any such legislation, but always willing to be corrected. In which case we can look forward to universal hose removal?
Certainly there's no legislative requirement within H and S assessments for the banning that I have been aware of.

It has been suggested that water supply legislation is the issue, and also that fitting a non-return valve before the hose deals with it.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

North Wales was the first water company area where it was enforced, I would say getting on for a decade ago. We're all used to it by now. There are worse things to worry about.

 

[l'escargot]

Law? Must be right then.....

No seriously, I wasn't specifically blaming them...but thinking about it, I will.
Having worked in that field, I'm not aware of any such legislation, but always willing to be corrected. In which case we can look forward to universal hose removal?
Certainly there's no legislative requirement within H and S assessments for the banning that I have been aware of.

It's nothing to do with the health risks to the hose user, it is about avoiding back siphoning contaminating the mains water supply. The legislation is there and marinas either fit a system that meets the requirements or remove the hoses.

Read about English legislation here http://www.wras.co.uk/PDF_Files/IGNMarinas.pdf The CIs will have similar regulations.

 

[snooks]

It's nothing to do with the health risks to the hose user, it is about avoiding back siphoning contaminating the mains water supply.

How is it possible to back siphon against the pressure of mains water? And surely there is summut, somewhere in the system that stops anything entering the mains water supply, and stops the mains water supply getting out...whatsits called now? A tap?

 

[nigelmercier]

How is it possible to back siphon against the pressure of mains water?

I've seen it. A water main burst in our road, I didn't know and turned on a tap, it sucked air for a long time before I realised what was happening. If I had turned on the hose, it could have emptied our pool.

 

[Melleman]

It's nothing to do with the health risks to the hose user, it is about avoiding back siphoning contaminating the mains water supply. The legislation is there and marinas either fit a system that meets the requirements or remove the hoses.

But if this happend.
Even if the hose was private.

4. You have not forced it through your bog outlet pipe to unblock it.

At the same time as this.

I've seen it. A water main burst in our road, I didn't know and turned on a tap, it sucked air for a long time before I realised what was happening. If I had turned on the hose, it could have emptied our pool.

It would probably unblock the pipe.

 

[sailorman]

North Wales was the first water company area where it was enforced, I would say getting on for a decade ago. We're all used to it by now. There are worse things to worry about.

Wot just after the time that tanker lorry driver cocked-up @ a pumping stn

 

[Laurie]

I guess marinas don't want to be sued by insurance companies when someone gets ill and the hoses are found to be dirty.

And therein is the sad truth....the possibility???? of someone so doing

 

[l'escargot]

How is it possible to back siphon against the pressure of mains water? And surely there is summut, somewhere in the system that stops anything entering the mains water supply, and stops the mains water supply getting out...whatsits called now? A tap?

But what is it people do? Some of them actually open taps and then even leave the end of their hoses in tanks, the sea etc - it applies not only to marinas but all commercial and agricultural premises too. Of course it wouldn't matter if the tap was never turned on but that would rather defeat the object of having one wouldn't it? If the marina install a proper system with a syphon break between the hose and the main supply they can have as many hoses as they want.

Burst main and fire service using a hydrant can both cause a reduction in pressure sufficient to draw water back through a hose with a tap left open. It actually doesn't take much to contaminate a water supply that could affect 1000s of people through the stupidity of one.

 

[Laurie]

Lots of marinas have removes hoses and others have warnings about "not using the hose to deliver drinking water." Apart from the legislation, there are other reasons for using your own hose.
1. You know that dogs have not been peeing on it (I hope.)
2. You don't use it to siphon diesel.
3. You have not left it dangling in the water (and I don't mean the drinking stuff.)
4. You have not forced it through your bog outlet pipe to unblock it.


5. It has not been lying about for hours in the sun half full of water. Or anything else.

You may think some of these possibilities are far-fetched Laurie. Believe me they are only the ones that I know have happened.

"prv" thinks I may not have noticed the removals, too true. I've not seen any. And you too are quite right: my point being how very sad that it comes to this. Has something been seeded in the atmosphere over the last 2 decades to make us unable to take responsibility for the minor questions of life ? Where does that leave sailing in its widest range of activities?
Sad ol' world methinks, back to my cotton wool bunker.....

 

[sailorman]

How is it possible to back siphon against the pressure of mains water? And surely there is summut, somewhere in the system that stops anything entering the mains water supply, and stops the mains water supply getting out...whatsits called now? A tap?

Allegedly if no anti-syphon device is fitted to the standpipe supply & a water pipe is ruptured in a nearby street there could be a vacuum formed as the water gushes out & suck the Hbr dry

 

[Twister_Ken]

Ho hum.

Yet another reason not to visit St Peter Port, Guernsey (not that I actually need anymore, the harbour authority's attitude to customer service is disincentive enough).

Still hoses at Beaucette?

 

[NormanS]

Personally, I would rather use a marina hose, which is in frequent use, than something that had been lying coiled up in the bottom of a cockpit locker for weeks. It's such a shame that common sense is being bred out of modern civilisation.

 

[sailorman]

Personally, I would rather use a marina hose, which is in frequent use, than something that had been lying coiled up in the bottom of a cockpit locker for weeks. It's such a shame that common sense is being bred out of modern civilisation.

It is Regulators with little else to do, so they empire build