Hosepipe Ban Update - How Waterwell can help you..

You may have seen in the press, that following two dry winters, a number of water companies are to impose a temporary hosepipe ban.

The restrictions vary from supplier to supplier so below, I have provided you with a link to each of the companies that are currently intending to impose a ban. Please check your supplier’s website periodically to see if the restrictions change.

The common link is that, from 5th April, until conditions change (either for better or worse) the use of hosepipes and sprinklers (including lawn sprinklers and micro-sprinklers) to water gardens will be prohibited.

There are some exceptions though and most (not all) suppliers will allow the use of sprinklers if you have your own borehole, if you have a rainwater harvesting system or if you are a registered disabled, blue badge holder.

On the plus side, the water companies have now recognised that drip irrigation systems use water more efficiently than even hand watering and as a result all (bar Sutton & East Surrey & Veolia) are to allow the use of drip systems that are controlled with a timer/water computer.

What can we do to help you?

It’s not all bad news! It is usually possible to adapt systems (either temporarily or permanently) to a drip system in one of two ways:

1. If your garden contains costly specimen plants and trees it is possible to adapt the zones that currently cover the borders & beds by switching off the individual micro-sprinklers (but leaving them in situ to use after the ban) and instead apply the water with individual drippers and adjustable drippers. 

 This method won’t water every plant but will irrigate the key plants and trees in each border and can often be done within the allotted time as part of your maintenance service. Beyond that, for more extensive works, a callout can be arranged with works charged at the usual hourly rate.
2. On a bigger scale, the alternative is to remove the micro-sprinklers and replace them with Dripline which consists of a network of pipework, pegged to the surface of the soil, with a built-in, self-cleaning dripper every 300mm. Dripline is a very efficient way to apply water to the garden but to be effective (and aesthetically pleasing) the whole area needs to be mulched after installation. 

 Installing Dripline is a long-term solution best suited to low maintenance gardens. If you wish to upgrade to Dripline then let your maintenance Engineer know when he visits, he will then measure up and we can get back to you with an accurate price for the works.

Either method will help secure your investment in expensive plants, shrubs and trees and although there is no solution to watering your lawn it will get your garden through this period until the ban is lifted.

Keep an eye on the News section on our website where we will post any further updates that we receive.

There’s only one cloud on Waterwell’s horizon

You may have noticed that over the last year, we have completely re-designed Waterwell, from the ground up. We have painstakingly looked at every aspect of the business and asked two questions; 1) how can we do this better? and 2) what more can we do for our customers?

As a result of this we have made many changes which I won’t bore you with but most excitingly we are moving the whole business “to the cloud”.

What is cloud computing? Cloud computing is akin to renting your IT software via the internet; a IT company provides the server space and the software, we provide the data and Waterwell accesses it over the internet in return for a monthly premium. The cloud isn’t as alien as you might imagine, you’re probably already using it with Facebook, Flickr etc.

But why the cloud? It’s quick to set up, it’s flexible (if you don’t like the service then move to another provider) and the providers are constantly making improvements to ensure you stay with them. From our point of view, everyone in Waterwell can see all the information and diaries anytime, anywhere. Our costs are lower because we need less support staff and we’ll no longer need a server. Most importantly though, the cloud enables us to provide a quicker, improved service for our customers.

We tested it in the spring by equipping the maintenance guys with Apple iPads and it has been a huge success so we are now rolling it out to the installation teams over this winter.

Onwards and upwards.

A new cog in the Waterwell wheel

We are delighted to announce that Peter McMillan has joined the Waterwell team. His role, as Administrator, will be to help ensure all our customers have the best experience possible and to help develop the business and the service that we provide. It's likely too that Peter's will be the first voice that you hear when you call as he will be organising the Waterwell Irrigation Maintenance Service. Peter is undoubtedly a welcome addition to Waterwell and we wish him well in his new role.

Seasonal Offers

As part of the total redesign of Waterwell we have now created an exciting Seasonal Offers page. At last, we have an outlet to demonstrate our retail products – products that most people need in their gardens.

We have done deals with a number of our best suppliers to provide a series of different offers, throughout the year. As with our irrigation, lighting and planting, our customers trust Waterwell to provide professional product and systems for their gardens and the Seasonal Offers will be no different. You know you can rely on Waterwell to ensure you get the right product for your garden, fitted (if necessary), at a reasonable price.

New Waterwell

Breaking news, we have rebuilt Waterwell from the ground up! Having been around for over twenty years, we felt it was the right time to re-model Waterwell, to take a good look at the service it provides and to review the needs of the customers. So, over the last ten months we have carried out a critical appraisal of the business canvassed the opinions of our customers and used the results of the review to re-design the business.

We have re-focused our attention on providing outstanding customer care, increased the range of services we provide for our customers and created what we believe is a dynamic and fresh C21st website. Try us out and see for yourselves.

Waterwell has a new owner!

We are very excited to announce that Nick Ryan has become a joint owner of Waterwell. Nick has taken a significant stake in the business, joining Simon and Richard Sales, to launch "New Waterwell".

Nick Ryan brings a wealth of experience to the business having worked in the landscaping industry for over thirty years but most importantly, Nick is a "customer man" he really understands the needs of the customer and how to fulfil those needs. We wish Nick well in his new role.

Waterwell is lit by the glow of gold

Waterwell successfully lit the BUPA sponsored garden at this years 2008 Chelsea Flower Show. The show garden, designed by Cleve West was awarded a coveted Gold Medal plus the garden was voted by the BBC TV’s viewers and show visitors to win the People’s Choice Award.

The focal point of the garden was the stunning concrete “Boule;” a seven foot diameter tactile sphere balanced on the edge of a reflective pool. To illuminate the garden, Waterwell worked in partnership with one of its key suppliers; the Italian lighting manufacturer IGuzzini. The huge “Boule” was intensely lit from one side with concentrated, colour change light to produce a constantly evolving, almost lunar scene. The illumination of the “Boule” with an ever-changing spectrum of colour was the centre piece of the garden at night, bringing it to life and creating drama and excitement for any occasion.

To create this effect Waterwell used a prototype light fitting containing an array of thirty six, colour change, Luxeon LED lamps. To contrast the colour change effect, soft ambient uplighting was used on each of the six Juneberry trees (Amelanchier lamarckii). This gentle, warm light provided the backdrop or “setting” for the illumination of the “Boule”.

The garden is now being dismantled and re-built at one of BUPA’s nursing homes in Battersea, South-west London.

Read the article in the Independent.

Please refer us to your friends

As you know, we are a friendly, local business that relies on the goodwill and loyalty of the relationships that we have with our existing customers, some of which we have been looking after for nearly 20 years. If you are happy with our service, can I ask you to please refer our service to your friends, family and contacts so that we can try to provide them with the service that we give you. For each referral that turns into a job we will then donate £100 to our favourite charity, Wateraid. Their mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education; please take the time to visit their website www.wateraid.org and see the type of work they do. If however, you are not happy with our service then please email me and let me know what the problem is and I will try to resolve it, if I possibly can.

Garden Lighting Maintenance Contracts – at last!

During the summer of 2008, we are proposing to introduce annual Garden Lighting Maintenance Contracts for customers who would like them. Like the Irrigation Maintenance Contracts, an annual fee will provide you with two, timed appointments on days to suit your diary, at which your garden lighting system will be thoroughly serviced and maintained. This will then afford our lighting customers the same peace of mind that our irrigation customers currently enjoy.

Information resource for Waterwell customers

Waterwell has been in business for a long time, since 1989. As a result of that we have seen lots of companies come and go, the good, the bad and the “don’t touch them with a barge pole”. We are constantly in contact with garden designers, architects, developers, landscapers, interior designers, gardeners and all manner of other companies. If you are looking for someone reliable to help you with your property then please feel free to email me at simon@waterwell.co.uk and if I can help in any way, then I will.

Waterwell wins enterprise award

Waterwell is now an award winning company. WestFocus, a collaboration of seven universities, has selected Waterwell as an “Enterprising Business Award Winner”. The award allows Waterwell to work with the universities and other companies over the next twelve months to develop key areas of the business.

Waterwell is expanding

To improve the service that we provide to all our customers, Waterwell has moved to a purpose built business unit in Brentford, West London. This unit will act as the central hub for all the administration & marketing needs of the business as well as providing a base for the South West London & North West London teams of engineers.

In addition to this, Waterwell is developing two smaller “satellite units” based in North East London & South East London, enabling Waterwell to cover the whole of London & the Home Counties more efficiently. This will improve the service that we provide and will minimise the ever increasing cost of travel time allowing us to pass on the savings to our clients by reducing the costs of having an irrigation and/or lighting system installed.