What about water…?

[Borchester]

Highly amusing and missing the point entirely. Good old banter.
A good percentage of our water goes on watering the garden, as my wife is a keen gardener and does not want the hundreds of pounds worth of plants to die in the dry weather. She waters then with a can each night. When we have rain water from the barrel we use that, but of course, in dry weather it is soon gone. We are going to install another soon. It's measures like that which can help to save water.

Of course, the leaks need to be fixed, but they seem less important than the profits.

I turned on the sprinkler yesterday and left it to give the garden a good soak. I reckon that Madam's plants will have had the equivalent of 75mm (3" ) by mid day. That should see us through any hosepipe ban

[Barry]

Then I suggest we learn something from the Israelis on that score, you can reverse a desert.

As predicted.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2035%3A2&version=NIRV

[Sheepy]

The problem we face is not climate change but overpopulation. Too many politicians fail to care that for decades now, uncontrolled immigration has pressurised our resources to the point the aquefers are drying out. This year has merely increased the stress on an already stressed supply, and increased building removes the ability of the land to replenish the supply. It's quite a tricky balance getting the rain to soak down fast enough without running off. The various tree diseases that have utterly destroyed the landscapes I knew as a child and younger man have also destroyed the ability of the mountains and hills here to hold back the rainwater. The rivers and streams that merely gurgled after a night that saw the Brecon beacons treated to a drenching if Thames fire boat proportions now rage with a torrent that will sweep you away. The fact that the hills no longer retain what they did merely 40 years ago is stark and plain for all to see.

Then I suggest we learn something from the Israelis on that score, you can reverse a desert.

[Barry]

No Barry just cleaner!

Highly amusing and missing the point entirely. Good old banter.
A good percentage of our water goes on watering the garden, as my wife is a keen gardener and does not want the hundreds of pounds worth of plants to die in the dry weather. She waters then with a can each night. When we have rain water from the barrel we use that, but of course, in dry weather it is soon gone. We are going to install another soon. It's measures like that which can help to save water.

Of course, the leaks need to be fixed, but they seem less important than the profits.

[johnofgwent]

Desalinated water is rather more expensive than the stuff that falls out of the sky for free. And we usually have enough of the latter to make the former economically unviable and unnecessary. In this respect we are quite unlike Dubai and Israel.

In these harsh economic times especially, none of us want to pay more than we have to for water as well. Of course, weather is unpredictable and unreliable and we will get occasional dry spells that may sometimes be prolonged. But annually we do still tend to get enough water for sufficient storage capacity to get us through the dry spells being the best answer.

Only if our climate were to change so markedly that we had insufficient water all year round would desalination plants become a necessity. We are nowhere near that point right now.

The problem we face is not climate change but overpopulation. Too many politicians fail to care that for decades now, uncontrolled immigration has pressurised our resources to the point the aquefers are drying out. This year has merely increased the stress on an already stressed supply, and increased building removes the ability of the land to replenish the supply. It's quite a tricky balance getting the rain to soak down fast enough without running off. The various tree diseases that have utterly destroyed the landscapes I knew as a child and younger man have also destroyed the ability of the mountains and hills here to hold back the rainwater. The rivers and streams that merely gurgled after a night that saw the Brecon beacons treated to a drenching if Thames fire boat proportions now rage with a torrent that will sweep you away. The fact that the hills no longer retain what they did merely 40 years ago is stark and plain for all to see.

[Sheepy]

Not quite what I meant. The areas I believe currently in trouble are Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, and the map shows they are rather remote from such.

From dredging back my history and geography O level stuff from 50 years ago I suspect the parts of the country well supplied with canals are also least likely to need assistance with water supply, as if I recall correctly the satanic mills were built in areas where the rain god's were generous in their offering as the textile industry made great use if the moist climate.... And the canals were built to service them....

They also rely on reservoirs for water source and when the bank burst, they dry up. All we are suggesting is a reliable constant fresh water source which in actual fact would kill two birds with one stone, you also lower the rising sea level.

[johnofgwent]

What John,Birmingham,London are nowhere near canals??
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/canals-can-help-the-uk/

Not quite what I meant. The areas I believe currently in trouble are Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, and the map shows they are rather remote from such. 

From dredging back my history and geography O level stuff from 50 years ago I suspect the parts of the country well supplied with canals are also least likely to need assistance with water supply, as if I recall correctly the satanic mills were built in areas where the rain god's were generous in their offering as the textile industry made great use if the moist climate.... And the canals were built to service them....

[T00ts]

On our water bill it says we (2 of us) use an average of 157 litres per day. 78.5 litres per person.
It would be interesting to see what other people are using, which has to be a part of the problem.

My son-in-law, who works from home has 2 showers a day. I usually have 2 showers a week, sometimes more in hot weather or when doing manual work.
When I was a kid, Saturday was bath night and the water got used for more than one person.
I know people who bath their kids every single night. Their water bill is £100 a month.


We have become a nation of wasters.

   No Barry just cleaner!

[Barry]

On our water bill it says we (2 of us) use an average of 157 litres per day. 78.5 litres per person.
It would be interesting to see what other people are using, which has to be a part of the problem.

My son-in-law, who works from home has 2 showers a day. I usually have 2 showers a week, sometimes more in hot weather or when doing manual work.
When I was a kid, Saturday was bath night and the water got used for more than one person.
I know people who bath their kids every single night. Their water bill is £100 a month.


We have become a nation of wasters.

[srb7677]

The UK is made up of islands surrounded by water.

If Dubai and Israel can run of desalinated water, what's holding the UK back from making all the freshwater it wants...?

Desalinated water is rather more expensive than the stuff that falls out of the sky for free. And we usually have enough of the latter to make the former economically unviable and unnecessary. In this respect we are quite unlike Dubai and Israel.

In these harsh economic times especially, none of us want to pay more than we have to for water as well. Of course, weather is unpredictable and unreliable and we will get occasional dry spells that may sometimes be prolonged. But annually we do still tend to get enough water for sufficient storage capacity to get us through the dry spells being the best answer.

Only if our climate were to change so markedly that we had insufficient water all year round would desalination plants become a necessity. We are nowhere near that point right now.

[cromwell]

Not really. I mean I like your idea but the map shows the degree to which current population centres are nowhere near the areas served by the canal system.

What John,Birmingham,London are nowhere near canals??
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/canals-can-help-the-uk/

[Sheepy]

Not sure what run of desalinated water means, but I get your gist.
There's a plant just along the Thames, it isn't doing much, despite the recent dry spell.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11080931/Thames-Waters-250million-desalination-plant-designed-supply-water-400-000-homes-turned-OFF.html

It was badly sited. Never mind, we can build others on the Kent coast as long as NIMBYs don't stop us. However they do take rather a a lot of electricity to run, possibly 35 MW so they need their own substation. 35 MW is about 0.1% of the whole demand of the UK.
Did I mention there is an energy crisis, a cost of living crisis and a water shortage at the same time?
Dubai gets nearly all its power from gas.
Israel is sitting on a massive gas field and the EU are hoping it will soon get pumped their way.

Which Rolls Royce can build you with a small foot print and all the power you need, I only introduced the idea because they are polluting the rivers at an ever growing pace again, because we have not invested in infrastructure and are way over populated for our Islands size. Nobody can fix the Sun although somehow many think they can by punishing the plebs, they cannot drink polluted water or salt water. 

[Nick]

That won't work. In short, the energy required to pump it is just too huge. That's from a report from a water company looking to get in on the gas and electric deregulation profits.

Won't work? We already have a system very close to it and have had since the Victorian times.
When I was a child our water in Horwich came from one of the many reservoirs in the Rivington area which is a couple of miles away. Now the whole of the Greater Manchester area gets the majority of it's water from the Lake District, a hundred miles away, through huge pipes. 

[johnofgwent]

They can use the canal system.

Not really. I mean I like your idea but the map shows the degree to which current population centres are nowhere near the areas served by the canal system.

[cromwell]

That won't work. In short, the energy required to pump it is just too huge. That's from a report from a water company looking to get in on the gas and electric deregulation profits.

They can use the canal system.