Spectre of 1976 as London gets a drought alert

Evening Standard tonight. Bit late, had low rainfall for over a year now...
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24035248-spectre-of-1976-as-london-gets-a-drought-alert.do

'76 was chronic Ed... I remember it!


Richard

My local chalk stream the river Pang dried up that summer........dont want to spread fear but it`s been dry already for 10 months :face: gonna be a lake again Steve

Walked the Wandle this morning with the dog and was surprised to see parts that I have been in up to my waist (in waders) that were now little islands.

Question is, why has it taken so long to announce it. In October we had the lowest 12 months rainfall on record.

A drought order means they have to do something, could be too late.

Thames tribs above Oxford are shockingly low acording to a mate that fishes those bits ,get out there and have a bash i reckon coz June 16th will mean she is a lake Steve

Thames Water have put out a press release ahead of the drought summit later today, which seemingly places the emphasis on averting disaster on domestic water consumers:


Save water. Beat drought
Organisation: Thames Water
Source: Press Releases
Date: 20.02.12

A plea went out today for people to voluntarily reduce their water consumption ahead of what experts predict could well be a drought to rival 1976.

Thames Water's call to action, backed by the Angling Trust, comes after an exceptionally dry two years in London and the Thames Valley. Since records began in 1884, only 1892-3 and 1920-1 have seen less rainfall.

Levels in many of the rivers feeding the Thames have fallen to shockingly low levels. Flows in the River Lee, running from Hertfordshire into northeast London, are just 24% of their long-term average, while those in the Kennet in Wiltshire are running at just 33%, having dried up completely west of Marlborough.

The company is asking its 8.8m customers across London and the Thames Valley to make the link between the local river or groundwater source where their water comes from, and to consider how reducing their usage can have a positive impact.

Posters urging people to order water-saving gadgets went up today in the following seven communities across the Thames Water region encouraging people to order free water-saving gadgets - including shower heads, tap aerators and shower timers - from the company's website, www.thameswater.co.uk/waterwisely, or by calling 0800 358 6665:

Kennet - 'Care for the Kennet' - Marlborough, Wilts / Hungerford West Berks.
Darent - 'Defend the Darent' - Eynsford, Kent / south London.
River Lee - 'Love the Lee' - Ware, Herts/ northeast London.
Wey - 'Watch the Wey' - Guildford, Surrey.
Wye - 'Watch the Wye' - High Wycombe, Bucks.
Pang - 'Protect the Pang' - Pangbourne, Berks.
Coln - 'Care for the Coln' - Bibury, Gloucs.

Richard Aylard, sustainability director for Thames Water, said:
"We all need to recognise that the water coming out of our taps comes from our local river or from the aquifer that feeds that river - and the less water we all use the less we need to take from the river.

"Our region, covering the Thames Valley and London, has received below-average rainfall for 18 of the past 23 months, with 2010/11 the third driest two-year period since records began 128 years ago, and many of our rivers are running low as a result.

"It is no longer a case of if we have a drought this year but rather when, and how bad. This is not just our problem, it's everyone's problem and we can all do our bit to help - for example, turning off taps while we brush our teeth can save six litres of water a minute.

"Our free water-saving gadgets, available at www.thameswater.co.uk/waterwisely, can help further reduce our water usage, saving a few quid off bills in the process*, and you can get plenty of handy water-saving tips ** while you're there."

As well as reducing the amount of water flowing off the land into rivers, the recent lack of rain has caused the groundwater - the underground water table, which drives flows in rivers all year round - to drop significantly, in some areas to below the levels recorded before the 1976 drought.

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust, said:
"The vast majority of people are unaware that we are in the middle of a crippling drought. River levels are lower in many areas than they were in 1976 and many rivers in the South East have dried up completely. Rivers and wetlands are without doubt the most important wildlife areas left in Britain and water levels are vital to support many species that rely on them.

"Angling, one of the nation's favourite pastimes and an important economic driver, has become impossible in many areas or clubs have closed their waters to protect the fish.

"We've endured months of below average rainfall, but there is little evidence that anyone is doing anything to change their water use as a result. We all need to think about the water we use every day and to take action to cut out waste now.

"Many modern city residents have become completely detached from the fact that the water that comes out of their power shower, or the hose that washes their car, is water that should be keeping a river flowing or a wetland wet. People waste vast amounts of water because they don't pay for it themselves, but there is a huge cost for the community and the environment from their thoughtlessness."

Across London and the Thames Valley the company takes 70% of the 2.6bn litres a day of water it supplies from rivers, and 30% from underground boreholes. However, in the Thames Valley, 70% of epople's water comes from groundwater and 30% from rivers.

Thames Water customers can visit the company's Waterwisely website, www.thameswater.co.uk/waterwisely, or call 0800 358 6665 to get water-saving tips and order free water-saving products.

GMB press release:

Water summit should support plans to increase water supply for South East and Eastern England from the West of Britain says GMB
Organisation: GMB

Source: Press Releases
Date: 20.02.12
There is no shortage of water in Britain but there is a shortage of structures that can make decisions to get the water to where it is needed and this needs to be corrected says GMB

GMB, the water workers union, commented on the water summit being held today (Feb 20th) by Government on likely drought next summer.

GMB say there is no shortage of water in Britain but there is a lack of capacity to get the water from where it is plentiful to areas where it can be scarce. GMB insist that the most important issue is the need to come forward with plans to increase the supply of water to the South East and Eastern England.

GMB dismiss the plan in the White Paper last year to introduce a 'market' for water for households as irrelevant. GMB calls on all concerned to recognise that water is a natural monopoly. GMB has put back on the table plans from the old Water Resources Board to import water from the west of Britain to those parts where it is scarce.

GMB, as a contribution to the summit debate publishes a paper dated 18th November 2011 by Barry Rydz, a retired official of the old Water Resources Board, which sets out the case for water to be transferred from the west of Britain to the South East and Eastern England and identifies a number of ways of doing this. See notes to Editors below for full paper.

The Water Resources Board had the brief to find more supplies for London and other parts of South East and Eastern England before it was absorbed in to other bodies before the privatisation of the industry.

Mr Rydz spoke at GMB Congress in 2006 on the work of the Water Resources Board. He said then "All these proposals involve supplies form the west, the direction from which the bulk of London's supplies arrive, not from the north. Indeed, a project to meet London's needs by aqueduct from Wales was proposed about a hundred and forty years ago."

Barry Rydz went on to say, "About fifty potential storage developments were identified including new reservoirs, expansion of old reservoirs and more effective ways of managing existing reservoirs and aquifers. Selections of these, sufficient to roughly double the national water supply, were assembled into 'best buy' programmes to form the basis of future plans. So there is no question that ample resources are available.

Moreover, this advice was not limited to ideas and sound bites; every item of work was costed sufficiently to make valid comparisons of economic merit and environmental impacts were carefully considered by the Board. A major scheme which could have served the south east was to store more water on the site of an existing reservoir in central Wales and transfer it via the Severn and the Thames to London.

Some observers now take the view that transfer of water between rivers is virtually prohibited by European Union directives regardless of its economic merits, in which case long and expensive aqueducts may again be needed. I find it hard to believe that such an extreme interpretation of EU rules is correct but if it is then this issue should surely be revisited.

Mr Rydz drew attention to a scheme to enlarge the Craig Goch reservoir in Plymlimmon mountain range in mid Wales and to move the water via the rivers Wye and Severn and to be pumped into the Thames to supply London and the South East. Mr Rydz contended that this would be a cheaper solution to the water shortages in the South East than the then Thames Water proposal to build a reservoir at Abingdon.

A copy of his speech at GMB Congress in 2006 is in Notes to Editors in a GMB press release on this subject dated 21 December 2011.

Mick Rix, GMB National Officer for the water industry said, "GMB members who work in the water industry doubt if these sensible views on water will get much of a hearing at the summit. It does not suit a lot of interests to say there is no shortage of water in Britain just a shortage of capacity to get it from where it is plentiful to areas of relative scarcity."

Barry Rydz, speaking about planning in the water industry in 2006, said 'I am appalled at the amateurish nature of most public discussion of this subject. One hopes that ministers are receiving more sophisticated advice in private, but this seems doubtful.'Things have not improved since then.

It should be common ground that water is a natural monopoly yet we have all three major parties, including Labour, trying to extend 'competition' into the water 'market'. What nonsense.

Barry Rydz was taking sense when he said, 'I think it was a great mistake for this country to abandon what I call the national dimension in water resource management, since ours is a small heavily populated country with short lines of communication and with most of the resources on one side and growing demand on the other.'



We should correct this mistake and listen to the experts who gave advice based on needs and not on the desire to make money. It is essential that the government speeds up plans to get more water to the South East and Eastern England. What is not in short supply is water but there is a shortage of structures that can make decisions to get the water to where it is needed. The government has to act and act speedily.



The current structure of the privatised companies and the regulator need to be scrapped. GMB want to see the private equity in the privatised water companies converted to long term debt with a fixed return, issued by the public sector. We want to see control of the industry return to the public sector and we want to see the powers of the old Water Resources Board being resurrected so that plans can be made to get more water to the South East and Eastern England."

Seemingly sound words from the GMB, hardly likely to be explored though by this, or any other Govt.

I wonder why...


Richard

I love TW,s press release saying posters have gone up about saving water, only a year to late.

Why oh why is it the anglers who have seen this and no one else. THe EA were effectively gagged from uttering the D word, well until now....

Does the D word stand for "Drought" or "Democracy"?

Angling Trust press release today:

Angling Trust says drought is a wake up call for England's shrinking rivers
Organisation: Angling Trust
Source: Press Releases
Date: 21.02.12
"Water is too cheap, the public are too wasteful and politicians have been too short-sighted"is the message from the Angling Trust in response to the Drought Summit held in London on Monday by Environment Secretary Caroline Spellman.

Freshwater campaigns manager Mark Owen represented angler's interests at the summit and warned the Environment Agency that they must be geared up to mount fish rescue operations as rivers shrink and fish become trapped and stranded.

Mark Owen said:

"Whilst gardeners will moan about the prospect of hosepipe bans it is the angling clubs and our fisheries that will be bearing the brunt of this appalling drought. The Angling Trust wants to see every possible step taken to minimise damage to our precious fish stocks until such time as those rivers on the critical list return to something like normal flows."

Meanwhile Martin Salter, newly appointed National Campaigns Co-ordinator for the Trust, spent the morning with members of Action for the River Kennet at Marlborough in Wiltshire highlighting the desperate plight of the southern chalkstreams. Speaking from the dried up bed of the upper Kennet at West Overton (pictured) Mr Salter told Sky News and the BBC that anglers expected politicians to implement long term solutions to improve storage and reduce the need for abstractions from already dangerously low rivers.

Mr Salter said:

"This dreadful drought should serve as a wake up call for anyone who cares about the plight of England's shrinking rivers. Whilst the Angling Trust supports calls from the water companies to encourage people to conserve water there is much more that needs to be done if we are to prevent serious damage to the aquatic environment. We need far greater investment in storage reservoirs, better conservation of winter run-off, universal water metering and an end to unsustainable abstractions, like that at Axford in Wiltshire, which takes water from the Kennet catchment to serve South Swindon and discharges it into the Thames.

"Infrastructure investment will need both political vision and courage because it will impact on water bills. But we live in a mad world where purified drinking water is used to flush toilets and water lawns in country with a poor record for extravagant water use. Why is it that in the Thames region customers now use on average 1,000 litres of water a week for every man, woman and child?

"Despite being essential to human life we grossly under value our water resorces. Quite frankly, water is too cheap, we the public are too wasteful and our politicians have been too short-sighted. This has to change if we are to protect our rivers and the wildlife that they sustain."

Action for the River Kennet (ARK) is working with the local community and Thames Water to help everybody to use less water through the Care for the Kennet campaign.

ARK's spokesman said:

"In the Kennet Valley we have had drastically low rainfall for the last 18months, with less rain and a dryer river even than in 1976. Unless we have two very wet months, a drought this summer is inevitable. Now is the time to act. Every one of us can make a difference and help to keep our river alive. The water that comes out of your tap comes from the same source as the water in the river, so by using less of it there will be more to support the river and its wildlife."

ARK have long been critical of Thames Water's abstraction from Axford to supply south Swindon, and Director, Charlotte Hitchmough, said:

"ARK is keeping up the pressure on Thames Water to honour their commitment to provide an alternative water supply for Swindon, which will help the River Kennet. Thames Water are aiming to build the new supply in 2014. But the people in the Kennet valley as well as Swindon can make a positive difference too, by using less water, and I urge everyone to sign up for the free water saving service".

Sums it up perfectly.

Does anyone know if the reservoirs around the Mid and Lower Thames are Ok? Or will they need to do a mass abstraction of water from the Thames to top up, over and above what they normally do?

As far as I know Thames Water would have to apply for an emergency order to take anymore.

Answer to Q1 on here mate is what they do now...

http://rivertac.org/2010/09/10-questions-for-thames-water-the-answers/

The LTOA is up for review and they are engaging with stakeholders at a forum in early March. So gives the opportunity for anglers, boaters etc to get involved in the process and put a view across.

Looking forward to getting some of those Severn Barbel (back?) in the Thames:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17078727

And more

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103809/UK-drought-2012-Water-companies-say-mustnt-spend-FOUR-minutes-shower.html

TAC were recently sent a South East Water Resources Update newsletter by Southern Water.
There's a related section on their website at http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/drought