Vocal Voices

by **cromwell** » 10 Aug 2022, 07:56

There was an interesting letter in the Telegraph yesterday.
We are experiencing the worse drought since 1976. Back then it was pointed out that we didn't have any means of moving water around the country from places where there was plenty to places where there aren't.
Forty six years later, we're in the same boat.

Anyway, in 1976 rainfall in the South East was only 60% of what it has been this year.
Such droughts used to be common. From 1920 to 1950 there were five years when rainfall was less than it has been this year.
From 1873, when records started to 1970 the average rainfall in the south east for the first seven months of each year was 375mm.
Since the year 2000 it has increased by nearly 7% to 400mm.

However what has changed is the population of London and the south east, which is vastly more than it was in 1976.
So perhaps the problem isn't just lack of rainfall, but a total lack of planning?

by **Workingman** » 10 Aug 2022, 08:29

Ah yes, the National Grid for Water, whatever happened to that?

Cromwell wrote:However what has changed is the population of London and the south east, which is vastly more than it was in 1976.
So perhaps the problem isn't just lack of rainfall, but a total lack of planning?

Not just London, the whole country. UK population in 1950 = 50,616,014; today = 68,643,434. and increase of 36%. Ah, but, we are not allowed to mention that nor how it came about, so we blame the drought, and all the problem it brings, on climate change.

In 1976 the population was 56,188,348. This problem has been coming down the tracks for decades.

by **Suff** » 10 Aug 2022, 10:28

After 76, in Fife, they built new reservoirs. Recognising that whilst Scotland did not have enough distribution to cope when the local reservoirs started to dry out.

Since 76, FIFE has never had a water problem even though the population has grown dramatically.

Around London they closed reservoirs and sold them as prime building land for shedloads of money.

So when they blame the weather you know who is truly to blame.

by **saundra** » 10 Aug 2022, 13:53

And according to the DM the Rhine runs dry

Used to love being by the Rhine,when we lived in the Dutch border bet WM did to memories of weeze WM

by **cromwell** » 10 Aug 2022, 14:06

By coincidence Suff there's an article today on the sale of reservoirs.
Since the 1980's Thames Water has sold off 25 reservoirs, according to the GMB union.
Other water authorities to sell them off are Severn Trent and Southern Water.

Most of these will have been small reservoirs, some pre-dating 1900 which had come to the end of there working lives.
But they haven't been replaced.

by **Workingman** » 10 Aug 2022, 14:39

saundra wrote:Used to love being by the Rhine, when we lived in the Dutch border bet WM did to memories of weeze WM

We called it 'two rivers' Saundra, between the Maas and the Rhine.

We used to go out the back gate from RAF Laarbruch to the Maasdunen Park near Nieuw-Bergen where there were old quarry lakes. Warm air, but cool water. Sailing, water skiing, surf boarding and swimming. Heaven.

by **Suff** » 10 Aug 2022, 16:33

A better link at the Guardian.

Also the source of the Thames has dried up, moving the source 5 miles downriver.

For the Rhine this is not the first time, in 2018 it was closed to ships and barges for 6 months. They were supposed to be "doing stuff" like dredging and producing lower profile barges. Seems that 4 years later they are still "doing stuff" with nothing done.

This year, however, it is a double whammy for Germany specifically. They decided to mitigate the shortage of gas by going back to coal fired power stations. The coal for which is transported by.... Yep. Barges on the Rhine. Also if there is not enough water, they can't run the huge cooling towers and keep sucking water out of the river.

France is suffering too with restrictions on their nuclear stations on the Rhone and the Garrone.

It seems when summer is miserable everyone wants a nice warm dry summer. When they get one there is drought, risk to health (mainly idiocy) and loads of fires.

I'm happy to take summer as it comes. Easier not to be disappointed. The grass around here looks like Provence. Blasted brown. One of the reasons we chose here is that it is green in summer. i.e. it rains in summer. The trees are starting to lose their canopy, I'm sure in a few weeks they'll start to look like autumn.

We first noticed the drying of rivers in summer when we visited the Pond du Guard in the mid 90's then came back again around 2005. The change was nothing short of dramatic. Where did all the water go we said. Loads of rock and a large stream. Whereas before there had been a strong river.