Having just read a disturbing article from The Sunday Times, I need to ask any Great Britain growers this question.....
What's a "water butt?"
No jokes, please. I'm dead serious. Read for yourself:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gardeners-using-water-butts-risk-spreading-legionella-germ-k3b2lndp8
If you can't access The Times' site, here's the article:
Homeowners who follow government advice to use water butts to hose their gardens and wash their cars risk exposing themselves to a dose of deadly legionella bacteria, scientists at Porton Down have warned.
They found that 95% of Britain’s 11m water butts were contaminated. Spraying such water from a hose or sprinkler could spread the microbes into the air over a garden, allowing them to be inhaled and to trigger an infection.
“The presence of legionellae in collected rainwater and their aerosolisation through gardening activities like hosepipe use may have important public health consequences,” warned the researchers in a scientific paper.
The findings could prove awkward for Ofwat, the water regulator, which last week said that burgeoning water shortages meant tap water should no longer be used for gardening and washing cars. Rachel Fletcher, head of Ofwat, said water butts must become the norm for every home.
If, however, the scientists at Public Health England’s Porton Down laboratories are right, the widespread use of water butts could cause a surge of legionnaires’ disease.
Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection caught by inhaling drops of water containing the bacteria and is usually caught in places such as hotels, spas and hospitals, where the bacteria get into the water supply.
Water butts are mostly used to collect rainwater falling from roofs and are often fitted with submerged electric pumps and a hosepipe so water can be sprayed directly onto plants or used to wash cars. Many homeowners use butts to help cut their water bills.
The Porton Down investigation was prompted by fatalities such as that of Stephen Clements, 63, a grandfather from Cromer, Norfolk, who died in February last year after inhaling droplets while cleaning his patio with a hose and broom.
The scientists collected water samples from 113 water butts and found legionella in 107 of them. They then installed experimental butts at Porton Down, using a submerged pump to produce jets and sprays from the infected water.
They found that watering cans and low-pressure sprays released few bacteria into the air but if turned into a fine spray, the number of microbes floating in the air at head height surged, with up to 23,000 legionella bacteria per cubic metre of air.
This weekend the Royal Horticultural Society told the nation’s 27m gardeners to use only clean water to spray or hose their gardens.
What's a "water butt?"
No jokes, please. I'm dead serious. Read for yourself:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gardeners-using-water-butts-risk-spreading-legionella-germ-k3b2lndp8
If you can't access The Times' site, here's the article:
Homeowners who follow government advice to use water butts to hose their gardens and wash their cars risk exposing themselves to a dose of deadly legionella bacteria, scientists at Porton Down have warned.
They found that 95% of Britain’s 11m water butts were contaminated. Spraying such water from a hose or sprinkler could spread the microbes into the air over a garden, allowing them to be inhaled and to trigger an infection.
“The presence of legionellae in collected rainwater and their aerosolisation through gardening activities like hosepipe use may have important public health consequences,” warned the researchers in a scientific paper.
The findings could prove awkward for Ofwat, the water regulator, which last week said that burgeoning water shortages meant tap water should no longer be used for gardening and washing cars. Rachel Fletcher, head of Ofwat, said water butts must become the norm for every home.
If, however, the scientists at Public Health England’s Porton Down laboratories are right, the widespread use of water butts could cause a surge of legionnaires’ disease.
Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection caught by inhaling drops of water containing the bacteria and is usually caught in places such as hotels, spas and hospitals, where the bacteria get into the water supply.
Water butts are mostly used to collect rainwater falling from roofs and are often fitted with submerged electric pumps and a hosepipe so water can be sprayed directly onto plants or used to wash cars. Many homeowners use butts to help cut their water bills.
The Porton Down investigation was prompted by fatalities such as that of Stephen Clements, 63, a grandfather from Cromer, Norfolk, who died in February last year after inhaling droplets while cleaning his patio with a hose and broom.
The scientists collected water samples from 113 water butts and found legionella in 107 of them. They then installed experimental butts at Porton Down, using a submerged pump to produce jets and sprays from the infected water.
They found that watering cans and low-pressure sprays released few bacteria into the air but if turned into a fine spray, the number of microbes floating in the air at head height surged, with up to 23,000 legionella bacteria per cubic metre of air.
This weekend the Royal Horticultural Society told the nation’s 27m gardeners to use only clean water to spray or hose their gardens.
