Tag Archive for 'England'

Soak the English: Welsh want paying for any water piped across the border

Published on 02/29/2012 in drought, management, peak water, policy and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Celyn Dam

Retrieved from: The Guardian

“He said he did not object to water being moved from Wales to England. “I see no reason why that should not happen as we are rich in that resource in Wales.”

But he added: “I think there should be adequate and reasonable recompense for that provision. I’m not talking of an Opec situation when come sudden droughts to England we get the guns out and say you’ve got to pay twice or three times more. Just a reasonable return on what is being delivered.

“Llwyd’s comments come at a time when the worst drought to grip the UK in more than 30 years is already threatening wildlife and farmers’ livelihoods.

Widespread hosepipe bans are likely even before spring has begun. Stretches of south-east England have been declared to be officially in drought and other areas are considered “at risk”.

“He quoted figures from Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) that the country’s reservoirs are 98% full, adding: “I believe that we are witnessing the renaissance of a resource, and it falls on all of us here and the Welsh government to do what we can to ensure that we really do capitalise on the most important resource of all.” ”

Read more: The Guardian

Sami Oueida

Giving an invasive water pest the bullet

Published on 02/03/2012 in invasive species, policy, water filtering and water technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

David Aldridge and a handful of zebra mussels

Photo retrieved from: BBC News

“An invasive species, the zebra mussel clogs up water works and systems across the UK, costing millions of pounds each year to remove.

“With each female zebra mussel able to produce up to a million eggs per year, serious infestations can quickly form.

“Thankfully a Cambridge-based company called Biobullets has come up with a much easier – and cheaper – means of removing them. A method that owes much to the ancient Greeks and their Trojan horse.

“The toxin in question, potassium chloride, is safe to use in the water supply system as anything that is not eaten by the zebra mussels degrades in less than three hours.”

Read more: BBC News

Sami Oueida

Flooding and water scarcity ranked as top threat for UK

Published on 01/27/2012 in climate change, drought, floods and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Retrieved from: edieWater

“Water scarcity and flooding is likely to become the main problem for the UK in the future, which will need to adapt to increase its reliance, was the stark warning from the first comprehensive climate change risk study.

“As part of the assessment, 700 potential climate change impacts were investigated, with flooding ranked as the worst risk for the UK, closely followed by water shortages, soil erosion and prolonged heatwaves.

Flood risk is projected to increase significantly across the UK, with analysis for England and Wales showing unless plans to adapt to changing risks are implemented, that by the 2080s climate change and population growth could see damages to buildings and property reach between £2.1bn – £12bn, compared to current costs of £1.2bn.

Water quality is also predicted to be affected, as it depends on water volume and river flows to dilute pollutants. This, states the report is likely to increase water treatment costs and damage the local ecosystem.

“The CCRA also predicts increasing pressure on the UK’s water resources and warns that without action to improve water resources there could be major supply shortages by the 2050s in parts of the north, south and east of England, with the Thames River basin predicted to take the brunt of the drought.”

Read more: edieWater

Sami Oueida

‘Super sewer’ plans must be rethought, say council leaders

Published on 07/04/2011 in contaminated water, floods and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Thames and Tower Bridge

Retrieved from: Guardian

“The plan to build a £3.6bn “super sewer” to collect the millions of tonnes of raw sewage that over flows into the river Thames after heavy rain must be rethought to save money, the leaders of 14 city councils will tell environment minister Richard Benyon on Monday.

“In an unprecedented move, the councils have set up a commission of “independent” experts to examine Thames Water’s case for the 20 mile long tunnel which could cost more than Wembley and the Olympic stadium and park together.

“Benyon will be told that the scheme will cost all 14 million Thames Water customers – one in four of all ratepayers in England – an extra £10 a month “for life” and, in the councils’ opinion, will not fix the problem of drains overflowing sewage into the river. The leaders argue that there are greener and cheaper alternatives.

“At a time when our public services are under intense pressure, Londoners cannot afford to effectively write a blank cheque for this scheme without proper scrutiny, accountability and debate. Doing nothing is not an option, but we need to consider the possibility that there are better alternatives. On a recent trip to Chicago I heard how very few world cities are approaching it in this way – many realise that a tunnel-only option is not the best solution,” said Hammersmith and Fulham Tory council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh, who has led the pressure for a rethink and whose council will fund the commission.

“The councils, who downplay the pollution caused saying it is only 5% of the flow into the river and only happens four times year, have appointed prominent Tory peer Lord Selborne, a former member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and Lloyds bank director, to chair the commission which is expected to report back within months.”

Read more: Guardian

sammykayed