Water security

[KeithMyath]

I work in the water industry, and unfortunately along with energy it’s another dire situation.   We had a conference yesterday about the depletion of water in the uk, by and large 40% of the uk will have its taps run dry in the next 20 years. I find this fact shocking, 8 years ago it was 18% in the next 30 years. Climate change is the significant factor, and water treatment infrastructure being non existent a close second. We now need to invest in desalination plants (sea water treatment in effect) but these are expensive and power hungry.

So what will be the outcome.

Increased bills to the factor of 50 to 60% in the next 5 years, and even that won’t be enough.

Reduced water quality (this is already happening) the current government are actually promoting this.

Water companies going bust.

Water intensive Industries going under or being forced to close.

Increase in prices to pass onto their customers

Its all looking a bit grim in post Brexit/Covid Britain.

[Bentley Bullet]

Was that a government leak?

[ColinDouglasHandshake]

Sounds like more inaccurate modelling to me. Maybe Neill Ferguson advises the water boards too?

So, just under half the country will not have running water by 2041?

I don't buy it at all, although i do not want to be proved wrong obviously.

I do agree with massive increase in bills though. That would happen regardless.

[Bentley Bullet]

Why don't they just dilute it?

[River Don]

I'm not sure why you added the last line about Brexit/Covid there Kieth. It not raining enough has nothing to do with Brexit and Covid.

The lack of rain is causing a significant problem in Scandinavia too, where the damns aren't filling up enough to provide enough hydroelectric power.

This feeds back into the energy crunch. Sadly, the UK is wanting to buy electricity from Norway but that's not going to be cheap.

Climate change is the problem here, same with the lack of wind.

To a lesser extent it's the lack of investment in infrastructure by the government. That is also exasperating our gas situation as they have failed to invest in any reasonable amount of gas storage. Or in properly insulating homes.

[SydneyRover]

In defence of Keith, HD.

''Its all looking a bit grim in post Brexit/Covid Britain''

appears not to be blaming brexit for the water shortage but an observation about the current situation.

[Axholme Lion]

Why don't they just dilute it?

Ha ha. Two quality posts back to back. Well done. 

[Bentley Bullet]

Cheers AL, I'm in full flow today.

[Campsall rover]

Cheers AL, I'm in full flow today.

You missed your vocation BB

Well maybe not actually.     

[Colemans Left Hook]

I work in the water industry, and unfortunately along with energy it’s another dire situation.   We had a conference yesterday about the depletion of water in the uk, by and large 40% of the uk will have its taps run dry in the next 20 years. I find this fact shocking, 8 years ago it was 18% in the next 30 years. Climate change is the significant factor, and water treatment infrastructure being non existent a close second. We now need to invest in desalination plants (sea water treatment in effect) but these are expensive and power hungry.

So what will be the outcome.

Increased bills to the factor of 50 to 60% in the next 5 years, and even that won’t be enough.

Reduced water quality (this is already happening) the current government are actually promoting this.

Water companies going bust.

Water intensive Industries going under or being forced to close.

Increase in prices to pass onto their customers

Its all looking a bit grim in post Brexit/Covid Britain.

 I could bore holes in that statement   

seriously are  desalination plants viable

AND !! when i first heard about the idea of towing icebergs years ago i thought it was a joke

but not so

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/the-many-failures-and-few-successes-of-zany-iceberg-towing-schemes/243364/

[KeithMyath]

Sounds like more inaccurate modelling to me. Maybe Neill Ferguson advises the water boards too?

So, just under half the country will not have running water by 2041?

I don't buy it at all, although i do not want to be proved wrong obviously.

I do agree with massive increase in bills though. That would happen regardless.

We’re talking local stores of water that are highly susceptible to increasingly dry summers. Based on a mean of expected temperature rises over the next 20 years, every report undertaken on this even far back as the late 90’s always said by 2050 that we would be facing significant shortages of water supply. Factor in the climate issues excrlerating and it’s not exactly that shocking that those predictions have been revised down again, some 25 years on.

Will those areas (geographical) not by population for context have no water? Of course not but they will then rely on other areas to take up the slack. We have very few provisions for storing rain water in winter to use in summer and there is no plan to change that. Those other areas will soon themselves run out of water.

It seems proposterous to think we could run out of water in our lifetime, but if people stick there head in the sand. Who will care enough to do anything about it?

This needs to be a plan and it needs to come come from the government.

[KeithMyath]

In defence of Keith, HD.

''Its all looking a bit grim in post Brexit/Covid Britain''

appears not to be blaming brexit for the water shortage but an observation about the current situation.

That was my intention, not relating Brexit/Covid to the issues in the water industry   It’s a turd for everyone to flush that, no matter what business your in.

[normal rules]

Cyprus has no natural water supply. Every drop on the island comes from de salinisation. And it’s bloody expensive.

[drfchound]

I was going to post about desalination NR.   
Even if it is expensive it surely should be an option if not enough rainwater can be harvested.

[normal rules]

There are already many parts of the world where drinking water is a valuable commodity.

[SydneyRover]

I work in the water industry, and unfortunately along with energy it’s another dire situation.   We had a conference yesterday about the depletion of water in the uk, by and large 40% of the uk will have its taps run dry in the next 20 years. I find this fact shocking, 8 years ago it was 18% in the next 30 years. Climate change is the significant factor, and water treatment infrastructure being non existent a close second. We now need to invest in desalination plants (sea water treatment in effect) but these are expensive and power hungry.

So what will be the outcome.

Increased bills to the factor of 50 to 60% in the next 5 years, and even that won’t be enough.

Reduced water quality (this is already happening) the current government are actually promoting this.

Water companies going bust.

Water intensive Industries going under or being forced to close.

Increase in prices to pass onto their customers

Its all looking a bit grim in post Brexit/Covid Britain.

 I could bore holes in that statement   

seriously are  desalination plants viable

AND !! when i first heard about the idea of towing icebergs years ago i thought it was a joke

but not so

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/the-many-failures-and-few-successes-of-zany-iceberg-towing-schemes/243364/

Sydney Desalination Plant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Desalination_Plant

[Metalmicky]

We’re talking local stores of water that are highly susceptible to increasingly dry summers. Based on a mean of expected temperature rises over the next 20 years, every report undertaken on this even far back as the late 90’s always said by 2050 that we would be facing significant shortages of water supply. Factor in the climate issues excrlerating and it’s not exactly that shocking that those predictions have been revised down again, some 25 years on.

Will those areas (geographical) not by population for context have no water? Of course not but they will then rely on other areas to take up the slack. We have very few provisions for storing rain water in winter to use in summer and there is no plan to change that. Those other areas will soon themselves run out of water.

So Keith, is there a need for more storage facilities/reservoirs etc.... and should we be collecting more rain water when there are downpours?
Also - I thought that aquacaps were going to be the next thing to be use to avoid evaporation in reservoirs etc - are they not viable for the UK?   

[i_ateallthepies]

There's no shortage of rainwater in this country as the last twenty years of unprecedented flooding has shown, only the lack of infrastructure to capture and store the stuff.

[scawsby steve]

Nationalise the greedy f*cking water industry.

That would be a good start.

[Sprotyrover]

Cyprus has no natural water supply. Every drop on the island comes from de salinisation. And it’s bloody expensive.

I seem to ecall all of the rivers were dammed and that was for the run off on the Trudos

[Sprotyrover]

There are already many parts of the world where drinking water is a valuable commodity.

The Ethiopians are Daming the upper White Nile and boy is that naffing off Egypt,  the French merrily selling their Fighter Jets to Egypt which doesn't bode well.
Apparently most of Kosovo's Drinking water comes from a Dam  and reservoir in Serbia. That should calm em down!

[Bentley Bullet]

It looks like we're gonna have to drink Beer instead.

[KeithMyath]

So Keith, is there a need for more storage facilities/reservoirs etc.... and should we be collecting more rain water when there are downpours?
Also - I thought that aquacaps were going to be the next thing to be use to avoid evaporation in reservoirs etc - are they not viable for the UK?

MM there’s all sorts  of media that can be applied to stop evaporation in vast water bodies. I will admit reservoirs aren’t not my area, I only know we either draw from or overflow into reservoirs where there are any. Most water treatment overflows end up in rivers, clean water that is. Yes we need more water storage, dams and reservoirs especially in the south east. They will start to see some shortages in the next 10 years. There is no world governing body when it comes to water, it’s all managed at local levels, hence no joined up thinking. Firstly we need to fix the infrastructure, leaks etc. Then we need to overhaul our treatment plants for the 21st century. Then need to build more water storage facilities. During all this we need to use technology more in agriculture and industry to reduce water consumption as currently its a cheap commodity and is used in excess. Industry and agriculture uses some 75% of water in the uk.

[Sprotyrover]

Gosh just recalled my Geography teacher talking about Daming the Dee Estuary and that was in 1973!

[BVB]

England better start being nicer to Scotland and Wales, where it generally rains more and has much more storage capacity.

[River Don]

It looks like we're gonna have to drink Beer instead.

Amazing to think, before the Elizabeathan era one of the safest things you could drink was beer.

you had a whole youthful population drinking beer all the time. Just imagine.

No wonder coffee had such a transformative effect.

[Sprotyrover]

It looks like we're gonna have to drink Beer instead.

Amazing to think, before the Elizabeathan era one of the safest things you could drink was beer.

you had a whole youthful population drinking beer all the time. Just imagine.

No wonder coffee had such a transformative effect.

Yes but it was less than 2% abv

[Sprotyrover]

I read a couple of years ago that the Water companies were losing 25% of their water due to poor Water pipe systems.

[Colemans Left Hook]

England better start being nicer to Scotland and Wales, where it generally rains more and has much more storage capacity.

Birmingham has got its water from Wales for over 100 years

 

[SydneyRover]

Interesting fact, perfectly good tap water available in UK 2.54 billion litres of bottled water is sold.

If that money was spent on nationalising and fixing up the industry following the carpetbagging by private industry ................

Read some of this, it's a bit Alice

https://www.water.org.uk/