Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink? photo: likeablerodent
Half of Britain is in the grip of a drought that may last beyond Christmas, according to the Environment Agency (EA). Despite newly-introduced hosepipe bans in some areas and a recent spell of wet weather, there is no end in sight to the ongoing water shortage – unless, that is, you live in Wales or the North West, which are so far drought-free.
The EA’s latest statement on the drought has led to dire predictions of financial ruin for farmers and the annihilation of wildlife. Some commentators have compared the current situation to the 1976 drought, which saw reservoirs run dry and people forced to collect water from communal standpipes.
Farmers in crisis, public indifferent. “Farmers are facing financial ruin because of the lack of water, with many forced to change their planned crops for others that require less water,” wrote Alexandra Topping in The Guardian. Topping spoke to an East Anglia farmer who felt the British public does not understand that for farming enterprises, the drought is a crisis, not just an inconvenience – but that an inevitable price rise on produce will soon mean the seriousness of the situation will hit home.
“Standpipes are a distinct possibility in 2013, and I guess it’s an outside possibility here in 2012,” water expert Michael Norton told The Guardian.
The solution is a price rise, not a hosepipe ban. “Why can’t those of us who want to fill up our children’s paddling pools, or turn on the sprinklers to keep our lawns alive, be allowed to pay more to do so?” asked Tim Leunig in The Telegraph. Leunig argued that a price rise for specific activities such as filling a pool or watering the garden would deter people from wasting water but would still allow freedom of choice, unlike a blanket hosepipe ban. The answer is, said Leunig, to encourage commercial users, such as factories and farmers, to reduce water use and then sell the excess to domestic users.
Stop whinging. “You may or may not bemoan the hosepipe ban, but, as you inevitably sip a glass of water with lunch or luxuriate in a bath or take a shower tomorrow, spare a thought for those for whom a fraction of that water could be the difference between life and death,” wrote Alastair Stewart on The Huffington Post UK. ITN presenter Stewart argued that the inconveniences of the UK drought are hardly comparable to the “deadly catastrophe” looming in Niger, where hardly any rain has fallen for two years.
A Norfolk artist is facing a long dry summer due to the hosepipe ban, reported Norwich Evening News. Julia O’Leary’s work is dependent on using a pressure washer: “Notification of the first hosepipe ban in 20 years, brought in to ease the drought in East Anglia, came on the same day as confirmation of her taking part in her first major exhibition.”
Drought as financial opportunity. Drought-free Wales should be allowed to sell water to drought-stricken England, a former head of Wales Water told the BBC. “Is it fair that Wales isn’t profiting a penny from the water which is exported to England? In 50 years will our people look back and ask why didn’t we invest years ago?” said John Elfed Jones.
Water transfer. “Plans to sell Birmingham’s water are proceeding even though the Environment Agency today announced that the Midlands is officially in drought,” reported Mary Griffin for The Birmingham Mail. Severn Trent had announced plans to sell 30 million litres of water to the eastern part of England usually supplied by Anglian; negotiations are ongoing, said Griffin, even though the Midlands has been added to the drought map.