UK flooding

30/04/2012

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Large swathes of the UK are on flood alert today. It may be a beautiful sunny day in this blogger's neck of the woods in Yorkshire but that may just be a brief respite. Forecasters are predicting more of the same and the current UK joke is that this is "the wettest drought ever".

As the ground becomes ever more rain soaked, waterlogged earth will cause many problems. Today there is the sad news of a British man and his pet dog that drowned in their car.

The vehicle became submerged in five feet of water as the man tried to cross a Ford. A female passenger reportedly managed to escape. The tragedy happened close to Newbury in Hampshire, in the South of England. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

As yet he is the only fatality of the recent dire weather. With 38 flood warnings and 140 flood alerts in place across England and Wales, more flooding and associated structural damage is expected. Currently there are no severe flood warnings.

The Environment Agency are monitoring the situation closely and will update warnings, alerts and advice as the day moves on. The EA have finally confirmed that all of this rain will ease the drought conditions but they insist that similar levels of rain, for a length of time, are needed. 


Tags: UK flooding, flood alerts, flood warnings, man dies in submerged car, UK drought
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UK hosepipe ban, many will ignore ban

05/04/2012

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A brief few days of heavy rain in the UK has been replaced by bright, sunny weather. It may be more chilly than of late but it is still dry. With UK water stocks so low a hosepipe ban has been implemented in many parts of the UK. Such a ban has been in place in some areas for sometime. However as the situation worsens the areas operating a ban have been extended.

According to data collected by hosepipeban.org.uk at least 1 in 3 citizens will choose to ignore the hosepipe ban. 

When such a ban is in place it is a case of using buckets and watering cans full of water to clean paths and water outdoor plants. Those with water butts will have some fresh water supplies of their own but most of these are running dry. 

Seven water companies are implementing a hosepipe ban as reservoirs dry up.The latest to bring in water restrictions are  Thames Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East. These restrictions will affect about 20 million people. 

Of the people who responded to a hosepipeban.org.uk survey the majority said they would not inform on neighbours and the like seen breaking the ban. The Environment Agency has said that "most reservoirs are now well below normal levels and river flows are decreasing. All rivers are experiencing lower than normal flows, with two-thirds "exceptionally" low". The agency has however asked that water companies get up to speed with fixing water leaks. The water companies maintain that they are now doing this as fast as they can. 

Frighteningly "Water companies across England and Wales leaked more than 3.3 billion litres a day in 2010/11, according to Ofwat, the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry". Little wonder then that the UK is unable to cope with an extended dry period.

If you are in a hosepipe ban area you can -  no longer use a  hosepipe for watering a garden, washing cars or boats, hosing down patios and paths, and filling swimming pools, ponds, fountains and paddling pools. This applies to Public parks and allotments also.

OPINION: People may not want to be seen as a "snitch" but water is a precious commodity. If you see a neighbour wasting water washing a car with a hosepipe it would be to your benefit in the long run to report him or her.The fine for flouting the ban could be as much as £1,000.

The improper management of our water supplies is down indirectly to the previous Conservative government. They were happy to privatise every commodity and sold off our Water Board. Each company is now run differently and some are better than others. Likewise some do not preserve the meagre waterstocks we have.
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Hosepipe ban for some areas of UK

12/03/2012

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The UK has a temperate climate which is prone to be unpredictable. On the whole though the UK has plenty of rain. Or at least it used to have. In this blogger's lifetime a handful of long hot and dry Summers come to mind. Hosepipe bans are not unheard of. However it is still only March 2012.

IN 2011 we were warned that we were in for a drought and that hosepipe ban were imminent. Then the heavens opened and rain became the order of the day. This has become the norm and a standing joke. Say the UK is experiencing a drought, slap a hosepipe ban on some regions and wait for the rain to prove you wrong.

This year though it could be a little different. There are always some areas of the UK that are traditionally less wet than others. On the whole 21st Century UK Winters have much less snow. Of course that was not true of the winter of 2010/2011. This time however it seems that the UK is in for a period of drought.

Each year the water reserves in the UK fail to recover. This means that it was inevitable that we would experience a drought.

Two things however spring to mind. Firstly our management of water reserves and secondly our use of this precious source.

  1. The UK Water Board was deregulated some years ago by a Tory Government. It was a time when deregulation was the order of the day. It was a time when there was money to be made out of such changes. The UK ended up with many regional water companies. What you pay for your water has, since deregulation, depended on your supplier. Similarly some companies have invested more in research, improvements and maintenance than others.
  2. In recent years the UK population has snowballed. Add to this our modern lifestyles and as they say "Houston we have a problem". Dishwashers, power washers, automatic washing machines, showers and baths more than once a day have all increased our consumption of water. Whilst such bathing practices and labour saving devices are good they mean that there is not enough water to go around.
In general people in the UK waste water. Those who now have water meters, rather than a set water bill, will conserve water more. On the whole though we never give our water supply a second thought. That is until we are told that a drought is imminent.

There are many ways that you can save water. Some are little changes. Read more here:
The BBC has reported that "Seven firms say they will impose water restrictions after two unusually dry winters left reservoirs, aquifers and rivers below normal levels.  Southern Water, South East Water, Thames Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East are to enforce restrictions. Five of the companies said they will impose bans from 5 April." It is believed though that this is just the start. Other companies are expected to follow suit.

The UK is a relatively small set of islands surrounded by water. Malta, for example, operates de-salination plants utilising the surrounding sea water.

It may be worth mentioning here that people's yearly water bills steadily increase each year. If the service is hindered there will be no reductions but perhaps there should be.?

The best advice for now though is get "water savvy". Read hints and tips on conserving water. Little changes such as turning the tap off whilst you clean your teeth, can save much more water than you may imagine.

Water is essential for life. Look after what we have. It is uo to US now to make the difference.
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