Where's All the Water Going to Come From?

[TheBoatman]

Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

Apparently the "Office of the Deputy Prime Minster" has decided that near to 250K new homes must be built in the SE by 2020.

Apart from many questions I would like to ask the only one I feel needs answering is "Mr Prescott, where are you going to get all the extra water from"?

Although it seems to me that we have had a normal winter, according to Southern Water we have had below average rainfall and as such the SE is already in drought conditions.

That means that by 2020 we will need to find an extra 25 MILLION litres of water PER DAY!

BTW he is also responsible for refusing planing permission for a new reservoir
in the Canterbury area?

By any chance do MP's get free water allowances?

 

[ParaHandy]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

ah .... the water's coming (at least some of it) from about 10m from me in south oxford. Thames are planning a huge pumped storage reservoir which will extract water from the Thames .... good for occasional dinghy sail but, the surface area is so large that evaporation will be a problem ... Thames were told in '95 to bog off and fix all the leaks before asking for more capacity and now they have or so ofwat appears to suggest.

then there's Kielder, oop north. Built for Monty Finniston's steel plant at Redcar but Monty got his sum's wrong. should be a bit left although long way to get to Swindon ...

transport infrastructure is another problem otherwise life will be intolerable. Quite interesting this because the government figures of maximum vehicular traffic were increased (from memory something like 1,600 vehicles each way to 1,900 for a B class road) in 1999 which, conveniently, swept away virtually every problem without having to spend a bean ....

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

This proposal is not getting anything like the public scrutiny that it should.

I did not know that tidbit about B roads.

Someone on the radio yesterday was suggesting that all this extra housing would be unnecessary if immigration were cut back to 1989 levels.

 

[Peppermint]

Re: Water? Why curious about water?

Whether they get new houses or not people need water. So unless we cull people the water gets used wherever they live.

Much of the water we use is moved about through mega ring mains and engineering the flow of rivers. So the water can be moved to demand to a certain extent.

Industries that used a lot of water are on the decline and that leaves more for domestic use. In London the water table is higher than in the 60's, as a result of vastly reduced abstraction of ground water by industry. The Underground and deeper basements can get a tad damp.

I think water, in isolation, is a solvable problem. Add it to Schools, Primary Medical Care, Hospitals,Transport, Sewage Treatment, Coms and Power and you have a bigger challenge.

 

[Wiggo]

Re: Water? Why curious about water?

Interesting, but the poulation is not growing at a great rate, so our water needs should be fairly flat (at least for drinking water). As you say, it's the rest of theinfrastructure that's falling apart.

 

[Jeremy_W]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

From memory, Britain was an exporter of people in the late eighties. But this is really about the idea that everyone HAS to live in the South-East. If you cram 100% of the UK population into 10% of the land you're bound to have problems.

 

[jamesjermain]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

I think we are missing a trick here. If we move all the people into the south east - into one super-megatropolis which will cover all of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Middlesex, most of Hertfordshire, Hampshire and Berkshire, the rest of the country can be left to return to primaeval forest - La Foret Sauvage where wild boar, wolves and bear can roam and we can all ramble to our hearts content. There will remain idyllic pockets of civilisation in key areas such as the west bank of the Tamar where superannuated yachties can live out their dreams in peavce and quiet no more than 200 miles form the nearest supermarket with no facilities, roaming bands of outlaws, desease, poverty... I think I'd better think it out again - Oi!

 

[Lakesailor]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

No problem. They will build the housing on the flood-plain. Water for all every time it rains. Genius.

 

[Das_Boot]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

Havent any of you heard of global warming and sea level rise you will all be awash. It is going to bucket down.
If I were you I would buy a boat.

 

[dedwards]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

Sounds to me like building 250k houses is a good way to stop the sea levels rising in the first place. I wish these 'experts' would make up their minds: are we going to have to much or too little water in the future?

 

[Das_Boot]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

If it gets realy hot the air will be able to hold a lot more water vapor. The trade off should stop sea levels rising. However when it dumps it will dump big time. The only real solution is to concrete everything. Pave over the whole of England otherwise it is going to get washed away in the downpour.

So you are right the houses are a good solution.

Hail Prescot.

 

[snowleopard]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

it's not the number of houses that determines the water requirements but the people who live in them. 2 houses with 2 people in each uses the same water as 4 people in 1 house.

there a 2 reasons for the increase in the number of houses needed: (a) increase in the number of households resulting from more people choosing to live alone and (b) immigration. the birth rate is lower than the death rate at present and likely to remain so. only (b) increases the need for water.

 

[dedwards]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

and (c) The growth of people who decide to own more than one house. - also no increase in need for water (except for watering gardens maybe)

 

[Cornishman]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

[ QUOTE ]
Where's All the Water Going to Come From?

[/ QUOTE ]

I love it - I suppose that as the water goes and comes there really is no problem, is there?

Reminds me of the old joke of why urine is yellow and sperm is white. It is so that certain people (mebbe John Prescott?) can tell whether they are coming or going. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ZuidWester]

How about putting them all in houseboats?

Well designed houseboats would use less water and not increase floodplain/land use. Great against flooding and easy to move about if the job requires.
Don't know why they don't think more about this as a solution.
Prescot wants most of the ca. 250 thousand homes to be built in the south east on the floodplain (see the SE Plan coming out soon).
A real lack of joined-up thinking. The LDA are facing the same problem in London with an estimated population increase of 72% with no real infrastructure improvements. Nice one John & Ken.

 

[snowleopard]

Re: How about putting them all in houseboats?

i thought prescott wanted all the new development to be in his new northern supercity which would make hull, his home town, the most important city in britain (or indeed the world).

 

[KREW2]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

Hi
"Where's all the @*%&@*# water coming from"
Were they not some of the last words of the captain of the Titanic
KW

 

[roger]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

You may want to go for a walk in a primeval forest full of bears and wolves - I suppose you would be making a contribution to lessening demand for water -- may need a blood transfusion quite often instead.

 

[snowleopard]

Re: Where\'s All the Water Going to Come From?

[ QUOTE ]
.... areas such as the west bank of the Tamar .... no facilities, roaming bands of outlaws, desease, poverty...

[/ QUOTE ]

no change then?