Them or us - just who are the real wasters?

Juliet Gardiner of Upton in Oxfordshirefirst told Thames Water about a water main leak in her village in October 2001. "Though promises were made to send someone out, nothing happened."Eventually in July 2005 Thames Water came out one night to mend the leak. "The stream stopped running. I cannot begin to estimate how much treated water was wasted - thousands of millions of litres. They ignored informed warnings from local people - I wasn't the only one."

Readers say calling special "leaklines"set up by the water companies is no guarantee of action. In the north west, Roger Spoonerrang United Utilities' leak line in 2002, after noticing a major leak in a field with a nearby right-of-way. "I carried on reporting it for three years (yes, years) with no response." Eventually in 2005 - the field by now a bog - an engineer came out, and found a burst 12-inch cast-iron main. "I wrote to complain about their failure to respond to my reports to "leakline". Their response was simply to agree that they had completely failed to respond and have given me no feedback."

Environmentally conscious Dr Michael Kenny from Ealing, London, has reported many leaks he's seen on his daily cycle commute to work. "I rang leakline and was told it would be up to three weeks before work would be completed. I've reported lots of leaks before and always thought the response tardy but did not realise this was 'policy'. Surely when we, the users, are being asked to be waterwise this is unacceptable."

Meanwhile, Kate Osborne in north London wrote to say: "Oh deep joy! It's not just me that thinks Thames Water are taking the mickey exhorting us to save half a bucket here and there while a repair time of six weeks for medium leaks is standard. Shortly after Christmas I reported a leaking water main near Belsize Park - it had been running for a fortnight already - but nothing happened. A week later I called again and was told that for a medium leak Thames Water has six weeks in which to repair it. A fortnight later it was sorted. "How fatuous their publicity is - what on earth is the point of us saving a litre here and a litre there (and believe me I do!) when all the customer's efforts are for nowt if Thames Water allows water to be squandered so lavishly?"

Further south, in Rochester, Kent, Barry Barnes asks why golf clubs are exempt from Mid Kent Water's hose pipe ban. "Why can golf clubs use so much? Why should householders respond to 'We're doing our bit to save water, now it's your turn' when the tap is on so freely for leisure activity at golf courses?"