I agree with Harold Parkin (Letters, June 13) and almost everything he has to say about water shortages. There is no need for anyone to go short because, as he said: "We're surrounded by the stuff".

Having visited several countries where desalinated water is widely used, I found it good enough for bathing, showering and washing although I wouldn't drink it.

But then I don't drink the heavily chlorinated liquid which comes out of my tap in Sompting. It's so awful, I have to buy water from the supermarket. Perhaps Southern Water should be made to reimburse the £40 per year I'm forced to spend on bottled water.

However, what really takes the biscuit is the way we are billed annually in advance for a water supply which may not be available.

What other private company can demand money up front and then say: "You must stop using the product we're selling but we're not prepared to reduce our bill"?

Southern Water may be short of water but it's certainly not short of money if it can afford to spend £60,000 on sending out 300,000 postcards telling us not to waste water.

Maybe private companies which supply a commodity to the public at a predetermined price should make sure they are in a position to uphold their end of the bargain, perhaps by investing in desalination.

Alternatively, as Southern Water is owned by a French company, it could pipe water from France.

At the moment, price limits are set by industry regulator Ofwat but all the water companies have been badgering the Government for permission to install compulsory water meters. I wonder why. Could it be because this would allow them to increase their charges as and when they feel like it?

What happened to the government department set up to prevent monopolisation of an industry?

-Bob Luckhurst, Sompting