Archive for December, 2005

Water Shortage in South East

December 21st, 2005 at 09:40am Under The South East Plan

Watching ITV News last night, they showed frightening pictures of the Weirwood Reservoir at a shockingly low level. Over twelve feet lower than it should be, in fact.

The upshot of the news story Millions of homes face higher water rates and meters is that water meters are to be forced to have water meters.

Below is a picture taken in May 2005 - is’s easy to see how low the water is - it’s worse now but I can’t find a more current photo.

Weirwood Reservoir water shortage

With all the planned housing boom (can you have a planned boom? I thought the whole idea of a boom was that it was unexpected!) in the South, if they can’t already sustain the levels of water needed how are they going to cope with all the thousands of new houses planned? It’s easy to imply the South’s existing householders are wasteful with their water usage, but the truth seems to me to lie with over expansion being the culprit. So why are there so many more houses planned? Why are there no new reservoirs planned? The planned boom is going to be on arid land, it seems.

I pertso9nally have no qualms whatsoever about having a water meter installed - BUT will it solve the problem? Of course not. Only an idiot with their head stuck up their reservoir would think so.

The planned boom needs a serious rethink and some proper planning - not stopgap management with no real resources integrated.

By Jez Add comment

Recent Blog Posts

Categories

Posts by Month

Blogroll

News

Snail hides from march of history
A snail species from the Mediterranean is found in the UK at historic Cliveden House.


World heading towards cooler 2008
Global temperatures recorded so far this year suggest is likely to emerge as the coolest this century, scientists say.


Black holes 'dodge middle ground'
Black holes come in either big or small sizes, but there appears to be little room for mediocrity, a study suggests.


Machine 'sniffs out skin cancer'
A common form of skin cancer could be diagnosed by the distinctive chemical "scent" it gives off, say US experts.


Navy may help ailing Sydney whale
The Australian military has offered to help rescue a starving whale calf, separated from its mother and trying to suckle from boats off Sydney.


Six key species get woodland aid
A programme is launched to help create a brighter future for six different woodland species.


Birds 'off the pace' with warming
French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, a study suggests.


Fruit juice 'could affect drugs'
Fruit juices may not be as healthy as thought - they could reduce the effectiveness of some medicines, it is claimed.


Bid for world land-speed record
Two British men prepare to try and break the world land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.


Insect fossil bought on eBay found to be new species
A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay finds that it belongs to a new species.


Why reforming the economics of food could bring environmental and social benefits
Why reforming the economics of food production and supply would be beneficial for a number of environmental and social ills.


Driving primates to the edge
The decline of primates shows time is running out


Walk on water
Think bridges are built just to cross water? Think again


'We go way back'
Meet Manfred, who claims to have the ultimate family tree


Bobble clouds
What is this weird cloud formation and how is it made?


Superdoctors
The amazing work of the "Indiana Jones of medicine"


Dry hunger
Why lack of water will make it hard to feed ourselves


Numbers game
Bill Thompson is not alarmed by net meltdown fears


Stellar result in MoD challenge
The Ministry of Defence has concluded a contest to identify robots best suited to battlefield conditions.


American 'Bigfoot' is monkey suit
The claimed recent discovery of Bigfoot in the US state of Georgia has turned out to be a gorilla suit in a block of ice.


A thermostat for mini-spacecraft
A new technology has been demonstrated that can regulate the temperature of miniature satellites and spacecraft


Brain's counting skill 'built-in'
Humans have an innate ability to do maths even if they do not have the language to express it, research suggests.


Perfect return flight for Proton
A Russian Proton rocket successfully launches one of the biggest commercial satellites ever built - the Inmarsat-4 (I4-F3).


Wild dolphins tail-walk on water
In what is thought to be a world first, a wild dolphin is apparently teaching others to tail-walk.


Call to tackle UK business waste
The government should do more to curb waste using tax as an incentive, a House of Lords committee has said.


Magpie 'recognises its reflection'
Magpies can recognise themselves in a mirror, scientists find, making them the first non-mammal known to do so.


Pedigrees plagued by disease
Pedigree dogs suffer from debilitating genetic diseases due to inbreeding, a BBC inquiry concludes.


Hopes fade for Sydney whale calf
A humpback whale calf separated from its mother and trying to suckle from boats off Sydney, Australia, is weakening, observers say.


(RSS) and Comments (RSS).