Tuesday 20 September 2022: Sources of Fresh Water

Tuesday 20 September 2022: Sources of Fresh Water

1.What water sources are you aware of?​

2. Where do you think your water currently comes from?​

​3. What other water sources do you think Affinity Water can use to source more water for their customers?

Water sources: rivers, from run-off; reservoirs, mostly from run-off, although also partly from groundwater, and from pumped water; groundwater in aquifers. My tap water is pumped from the local aquifer. Whilst locally (south eastern Kent), the aquifer is the best form of natural storage, further west in Kent there is a need for greater reservoir capacity, although this is outside the area allocated to Affinity Water to manage.

The following four options increase water supply. What are your first impressions of each option. Is there anything in particular that concerns you about it? What would you want to know of see proven to feel entirely comfortable with this water source?

Desalination

My first impression regarding desalination is that it is completely unnecessary in the UK, when there is both abundant supply, and so much that could be done to manage and reduce demand, e.g. fixing the mains water leak that has been running in Elham for at least the past ten days, giving households the wherewithal to store grey water for further use. I see the need for desalination in areas of the world where there little precipitation. However, the UK has plenty of rainfall - it is simply managed remarkably badly.

I used to be much more in favour of desalination, until I found out how greedy it is for power, with all the environmental consequences that brings. Now that I recognise there are also further negative environmental consequences of desalination, I am significantly opposed to it in the UK. Part of the problem is that water companies operating in the commercial sector have no responsibility to reduce demand for water. Neither is there any joined-up-ness with building regulations. New houses could be built to much more demanding standards that reduced water demand, and housing estates built only where there is sufficient supply to sustain them. It seems to me that desalination plants are a technological fix for failing to address a wide range of shortcomings in the system of water supply and use in the UK.

Water Transfer

My first impression is that this is such an obvious solution that I assume the reason why new schemes happen so little is due to the artificial borders created by a privatised water supply system, as well as the sums of money involved. I grew up on the edge of North Wales, where there can be few people unaware of the transfer of fresh water from Lake Vyrnwy to Liverpool, and fresh water being transferred from the Lake District to Manchester. I then lived in north eastern England where there can be few people unaware of the transfer of fresh water from Kielder Water into the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees to supply fresh water to much of north eastern England. These schemes were built before the water supply system was privatised. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Major_water_transfer_schemes_in_England_and_Wales_map.svg I note that your third 'benefit' suggests that water transfer only 'may' give benefit to water flow in rivers - this was one of the very purposes of Kielder Water. It also seems to me that the 'costs' you list of transferring water mostly appear to be trying quite hard to make it sound problematic and undesirable: a) almost any water tastes better than water in London, and so transferring water to London would be a blessing; b) I am mystified why you suggest that the volume of transfer is limited. It is limited only by the diameter of the pipe one is willing to lay between reservoir and river/canal, and the number of pipes. The diameter of the concrete water pipe that runs southwards from Kielder Water is huge; c) Drinking water was contaminated at Camelford - transporting water does not, in itself contaminate water - the issue is how the water is managed; d) Whilst your statement about potentially-invasive species may be theoretically true, in practice there seems little reason why this should be hard to manage when the water is travelling through pipes. I recall plenty of evidence of invasive species of plants (e.g. Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed) along the River Wear that had nothing to do with Kielder, and everything to do with the failings of the National Rivers Authority and the Environment Agency. The only 'cost' that you list which seems significant to me is the energy required to move the water. I believe that the amount of energy required per unit volume to be a small fraction of the energy required to desalinate sea water. Therefore, much better to do everything to reduce demand first.

Reservoir to Store Water

My first impression is that this option is entirely obvious. Its use (combined with water transfer to lower rainfall areas) is relevant to geographies both that lend themselves to reservoirs, such as hilly topography, and are not underlain by aquifers (the most desirable water storage solution). There is little that concerns me about reservoirs. Even Kielder Water, which is 11 km in length actually occupies an infinitesimal proportion of the land area of the UK. The Kielder dam generates hydroelectricity. If there were rare plant species (a hangover from the end of the last ice age) there in the north Pennines, then moving those plants to similar habits nearby will not have been rocket science. Kielder was chosen because it was sparsely populated, and few people had to be relocated. The amenity value of a large reservoir is considerable - I used to sail on Derwent Reservoir (western County Durham) and I know that there are watersports on Bewl Water on the Kent/East Sussex border. I should like to see more reservoirs built, large and small. The last major public water supply reservoir to be constructed in the UK for water supply purposes was Carsington in 1991, and this was only finished subsequent to privatisation of the water companies because of the dam collapse (q.v.).

Recycled Water

My first impression is that this is a desirable option, but possibly not for producing potable water. It is not that I am especially squeamish, so much as: a) to clean water to a lower quality may require less energy b) to clean water to a lower quality may require fewer chemicals, and therefore less risk of contamination Cleaned non-potable water can be introduced to rivers (to improve flow rates), used for agriculture and supplied to factories. I very much like the idea of recycling water, but am less keen on the ongoing costs (both financial and to the environment - energy and pollution).