Its really really hard to build new reservoirs. They have been trying to get the Havant Thicket site built for years and years and its had planning objection after objection. So yes the water companies could do hugely better its not 100% there fault..
they have started building it
I’m going full Bertie Smalls
I'm enjoying this reference!
We have a ‘power shower’ which runs off a hot water tank & takes about 30 seconds to get up to temperature, so I’ve started catching the 1st 30 seconds of water in a bucket which we now use to either flush the loo or chuck on the garden.
This is a great idea, I'm going to start doing the same
I’d actually suggest if we didn’t have privatised water companies losing millions of litres every day from leaks we’d not need a hosepipe ban.
I suspect the network were probably leaking before they were privatised.
It's not the privatisation per-see that is the problem, it's the total lack of regulation - they were allowed to sit back and do nothing for years, whilst paying dividends.
is that right (in the SE?) Commercial growing operations specifically seem to be allowed, couldn't see anything related to non-commercial though (even for food rather than ornamental)b) pointless, the ban doesn’t cover veg growing only ornamental flowers
Interestingly, drip irrigation systems specifically seem to be allowed, as does any indoor irrigation system.
I say kill half the population - then we'll have plenty of water.
Thanos was right.
Harden up and have a cold shower.
It’s good for your soul, immune system and the environment.
Who do you think I am, Wim Hoff?
In fact I’m going to start using the leccy shower in the main bathroom, it uses less water & gets hot straight away. It just doesn’t have as much poke as the other one.
Dammit, then it takes longer so might use as much water as the Aqualisa, so might use just as much.
Dilemmas eh?
I say kill half the population – then we’ll have plenty of water.
I’ve said this all along, 1/2 the population = 1/2 the pollution/resources required.
It’s not even science just logic & obviousness.
they were allowed to sit back and do nothing for years, whilst paying dividends.
Not strictly true, when water was first privatised massive investment was needed in waste water treatment, that's where the focus was.
It's too easy to bash the private companies, they inherited a Victorian system and now have a regulator who has no vision. Before privatisation our state run water boards were a disaster.
Our infrastructure is not what it should be but if it had been left in public hands it would be considerably worse. This was one of the drivers for privatisation, give the problem to someone else.
they were allowed to sit back and do nothing for years, whilst paying dividends.
This is not really true, as stated above they inherited crappy systems especially in the NW but they do like to pay dividends like any other Plc.
One thing I found back then was the battle between the office staff and the operational staff who were out in the field was highly counter productive. The ops guys knew every valve, meter, pipe on their patch and didn't care about neighbouring zones. The office bods, usually Civ Eng grads, thought they knew everything so there were often clashes. 25 yrs later things are much much better
If it wasn’t for profligate use of resources we wouldn’t need a hosepipe ban.
I’d suggest that having a water network which loses something like 3.1 billion litres of water a day through leaks also has something to do with it.
But the water companies have made a shit load of profit so it’s all good!
is that right (in the SE?) Commercial growing operations specifically seem to be allowed, couldn’t see anything related to non-commercial though (even for food rather than ornamental)
Interestingly, drip irrigation systems specifically seem to be allowed, as does any indoor irrigation system.
Now I'm doubting myself, that was definitely the announcement when I heard it last week. We seem to be on the border of both the Thames water and South East Water hosepipe bans so maybe they have different rules. The wording was definitely (along the lines of "you can't water ornamental plants [in your garden]", but that's not what the actual law says.
And the rules seemed quite vague, you can't do anything that would replace a hosepipe (e.g. a sprinkler), but presumably watering your veg by bucket/watering can is OK.
Hosepipe bans were originally to stop you using a hosepipe which can deliver a lot of water without effort and can left running overnight. The theory is that watering your veg plot/car/paddling pool with a watering can is much more work and only the most determined will use a lot of water.
the SE Water notice specifically says watering cans are still allowed, but presumably watering your veg by bucket/watering can is OK.
It's amazing to think that at the same time temperatures and droughts have increased, and the population has increased by 15 million people, the UK hasn't built any new reservoirs, that's over 40 years without a single new reservoir to provide additional cover for droughts and the increase in usage.
Water is following closely behind the railways and other services that were privatised and run to failure, it'll be handed back if it becomes too much of a problem for companies and stakeholders.
Reservoirs are bugger all in the big scheme of things. We abstract our water directly from the water table.
Of course, water table is lower and lower because of drought.
KILL THE PEOPLE!
Water is following closely behind the railways and other services that were privatised and run to failure, it’ll be handed back if it becomes too much of a problem for companies and stakeholders.
Rail was hardly an amazing success before privatisation - still took billions in subsidies. Privatisaton hasn't fundamentally changed anything. The current problem, facing the railways, is that post WFH people have realised that commuting to work is no longer necessary and as that was the backbone of revenue for the railway, it's a bit of a problem....
The current problem, facing the railways, is that post WFH people have realised that commuting to work is no longer necessary and as that was the backbone of revenue for the railway, it’s a bit of a problem….
The current problem for our household is that none of us trust Scotrail to actually run the service they should, so we're opting to not go by train. That includes journeys from Dunblane to Glasgow - 30 miles direct, which used to be 2 trains an hour for most of the day.
It’s been bone-dry with only a few days of rain down here in south Wales since spring.
Seeing this on Sunday really hit home just how dry it's been in Wales this year:
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That's the Beacons reservoir near Pen Y Fan. It's never been that low in my lifetime. The water level is 2-3 metres below the outlet that moves it downstream. You can walk all the way to the island on solid mud easily, the stream that feeds it is just a trickle and the top few metres of the mud has a decent amount of (now yellow) grass growing in it. It will take a lot of decent rain to fill it back up.
It’s amazing to think that at the same time temperatures and droughts have increased, and the population has increased by 15 million people, the UK hasn’t built any new reservoirs, that’s over 40 years without a single new reservoir to provide additional cover for droughts and the increase in usage.
Water and waste water provide detailed insights into many things e.g. the current rise of Polio in London. When immigration from Eastern Europe was bringing in lots of new workers, many councils refused to accept that population growth and the subsequent stretching of local services and amenities was an issue. They were saying oh it's only 3-4% more people so we can cope without investing. When the quizzed why the sewerage had increased by 50-60% they had no answer..
There are some very talented people in that industry.
chevychase
Free Member
I say kill half the population – then we’ll have plenty of water.Thanos was right.
esselgruntfuttock
Free MemberI’ve said this all along, 1/2 the population = 1/2 the pollution/resources required.
It’s not even science just logic & obviousness.
Well, we've got our first two volunteers.
It’s not the problem many think it is. The fact that we have a population of a certain size shows the resources can and have supported it. But obviously there will be a limit to expansion. We have exploited history and it will be at the expense of the future. We can harness the power of the sun and moon, but we're running out of dead dinos. The famines in Africa aren't as far away as people like to think. If we'd had this current drought earlier in the year, we wouldn't be having the successful harvest we're having now.
I think this generation will probably get away with it and that's as far ahead as most of us like to think.
I hosepiped my allotment last night via the river that runs at the bottom of it, using a drill-powered water pump.
As long as you have the necessary abstraction licence from the Environment Agency, you have my blessing. 🙂
Unless I put 20,000 litres onto me partners roses, I already have the blessing of the Environment Agency bro 😊👊
Taking water from a surface source (such as a river, stream or canal) or from an underground source is called abstraction. If you plan to take more than 20 cubic metres (20,000 litres) a day, you are likely to need an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency.
<smug>
Our 2 x 1000 litre IBCs are still more than half full after a good top-up from the rain a couple of weeks back - that's with daily watering anything in pots.
</smug>
I don't know why IBCs aren't used more for domestic water storage - we had a couplef of 200l ones and they'd be empty after a couple of weeks. The IBCs have a cage so you can grow stuff up them, and a flat top which can be turfed. It needs a bit of plumbing bodgery to make sure they fill efficiently - ideally diverting 100% of the run-off rather than using the crappy diverter things.
I’ve started flushing my toilet with bottles of Evian before throwing the empty plastic bottles on to a disposable barby I have constantly burning on some nearby open moorland
😂
Well, we’ve got our first two volunteers.
Did I volunteer? Didn't realise, sorry.
I'm 66 this month, doubt if I'll see the shitstorm you're looking at.
Which is once again why I wonder why couples plan on having more than one kid nowadays.
@reluctantjumper it was that low in 2020 too, walk out to the island and the original Pont ar Daf that the wood is named after was visible.
For context someone worked out that every day Severn-Trent leaks the equivalent of 36000 households leaving their shower on for 24-hours (4.5mn customers)
They aim for an average of no more than 3 restrictions on use per 100 years
I'm doing my bit to save water by not using the toilet at home. Instead I defecate into a dog poo bag and tie it in a tree in the local park.
Unless I put 20,000 litres onto me partners roses,
Fnarr fnarr!
Hyuk hyuk!
Snurk snurk!
Etc etc and so on and so forth
Binners has started flushing his toilet...
I’d actually suggest if we didn’t have privatised water companies losing millions of litres every day from leaks we’d not need a hosepipe ban.
While I agree with the sentiment, we had just as many leaks before they were privatised, and as MrsMC pointed out the other day, hosepipe bans in some part of the UK most summers 15-20 years ago.
Yeah I remember hosepipe bans in Shropshire in the 90s. Felt like quite a regular occurrence!
@reluctantjumper it was that low in 2020 too, walk out to the island and the original Pont ar Daf that the wood is named after was visible.
@timber - I saw it then and it's far lower now, plus the exposed parts are baked solid. The ranger who was up there said it's the lowest he's ever known it in 20 years taking into account the other rervoirs further down too.
Binners has started flushing his toilet…
Flaunting his wealth in the grim North. I bet it's inside as well!!
For context someone worked out that every day Severn-Trent leaks the equivalent of 36000 households leaving their shower on for 24-hours (4.5mn customers)
I wonder for context how much of those are what you get rightfully anoyed about wasting, long term problems in pipes that haven't been fixed. When someone says "wasted last year", lack of investment, etc. That's what springs to mind, pipes leaking all year?
But how much is either:
Pumping stations transfering between reservoirs down concrete lined tunnels that are probably riddled with small cracks.
Or Recent issues like the dry ground cracking pipes?
Flaunting his wealth in the grim North. I bet it’s inside as well!!
No chance! His local Tory MP has banned indoor loos
I've been doing this all over the garden:
I knew all of those lemonade bottles I horded would come in handy.
I figure it's a semi-efficient way to keep dribbling some water into the roots while It's hot and/or I'm out and you can fill those lemonade bottles from water butts, used washing up water or whatever source you happen to have available. time will tell if it works, cheaper/less wasteful than sprinklers at least.
Using water to create food that involves zero packaging and virtually no food miles is not a waste. Can't believe how out of touch some people are. This hose pipe ban is just what the covid police curtain twitchers have been waiting for since the last lockdown!
Instead I defecate into a dog poo bag and tie it in a tree in the local park.
Bravo Sir! Doing your bit for the environment, tremendous work.
😉
Instead I defecate into a dog poo bag and tie it in a tree in the local park.
That works best in Autumn when its wet and rainy. A few holes in the bottom of the bag so you can sprinkle diluted fertilizer.
I plan to let myself into next doors back garden to borrow their hose to water my lawn when they’re out. Suckers, wait till they get their fine through.
Let's hope they're on a meter
Our 2 x 1000 litre IBCs are still more than half full after a good top-up from the rain a couple of weeks back – that’s with daily watering anything in pots.
I've been debating this, trouble is I already have about 400l of water butt's and they've been empty for getting on 3 months now so I'm not sure how long even IBC's would actually last?
Back of a fag packet maths, my veg planters plants get through 500l/week* at their peak (i.e. now), and that's near enough 100% efficient via those hoselock growbag waterers, there's no drainage/evaporation going on. So even 2x IBC's would only last a month.
But there's a bit of dead space in the back corner that I might measure up. And I've got a water butt pump so could just rig up the biggest butt to take all the flow and leave that running on it's float switch upto some IBC's at the top of the garden.
*yep, that seems mental, but 3 plants will drain the 15l reservoir in 24h.
Using water to create food that involves zero packaging and virtually no food miles is not a waste.
depends on the food. BRussel sprouts for instance 100% waste. Tomatoes 100% efficient
3 plants will drain the 15l reservoir in 24h.
Hmmm.. I feel like there is something going on there. If I had three tomato plants in pots I wouldn't be giving them three watering cans a day, I don't think.
Hmmm.. I feel like there is something going on there. If I had three tomato plants in pots I wouldn’t be giving them three watering cans a day, I don’t think.
You probably would, they generally need watering twice a day if grown outdoors, a greenhouse would increase humidity and lower transpiration, but we don't have a greenhouse.
And each plant is about 6ft high and 3 ft wide at the moment due to the weather!