DROUGHT?

 

 
One of the most precious commodities is water. Without water we die. Before we are born we are surrounded by water in our mother’s womb and we when we are about to be born we say “the waters have broken”. In many parts of the world people have to trek miles to fetch water which is often dirty and unhygienic. So in this country we are very fortunate in having water straight from the tap any time we want it. This ease of supply has made us very careless with its use and most homes waste a tremendous amount every day. Now, if the drought continues, we may soon be experiencing what Third World countries have all the time by having the water cut of and just a stack pipe in the road where we will have to fetch and carry it back home.

Periodically we experience a drastic shortage of water in the UK which I find almost unbelievable given the fact that it is often raining here – the last few days are an example.. Take Cyprus for example, a small very hot Mediterranean Country, where the average rainfall is very small indeed. During the winter they often experience snow on the Trodoos Mountains which then supplies water for the summer period. If there is little or no snow and little rain, then they can experience a severe drought. I have been in Cyprus when water has been rationed to three days a week except in the tourist areas.

Compare that to this country where annual rainfall is usually quite heavy although the Water Companies say that rain over the winter last year and this has been so little that the reservoirs Which must prompt the question of why is there a drought order in this area which is covered by Thames Water. And why is there no drought order in those areas covered by Essex Water our near neighbours. In fact in the Romford area, one side of one road is served by Thames Water with drought restrictions whilst immediately opposite the houses are served by Essex Water with no such restrictions
It seems totally ironic that statistically million litres of water a day are wasted through leakage in the Thames Water area.

It is also ironic that there are many areas in the UK where there is plenty of water available (for example Wales). Why can’t some of the excess water in the areas which have plenty be piped to the areas which are suffering drought orders? In 21st century Britain it is fairly obvious that we need more water storage facilities but because historically we have always suffered many days of rain replenishing existing reservoirs the Water Companies have not bothered to create any new water storage facilities and many are quite content to make vast profits without being stewards of the water we do have by letting it leak, to the extent of millions of litres daily,