17.08.1995

Privatisation spawns drought crisis

Water cost cutting

A HOT and dry summer has once again led to water restrictions. Yorkshire Water is rationing water, while managing to make some of the largest profits of all the privatised companies in the water industry.

The amount of water available per person in even the driest area of Great Britain, East Anglia, is over 3,000 tonnes per year. The average for Great Britain is twice this. There is never more than a 10% variation in any year on the total water supply. The problem is not hot weather but how the water supply is organised.

In fact, it is impossible in most areas of Britain to run out of water as subterranean water is always available. The only areas where this is not the case are Scotland and Wales - where it would take a genius to organise a water shortage - and the South West of England. Here the underlying rock is impervious to water.

The overall problem is the lack of reserves and of pumping facilities, plus poor maintenance of the pipes. When water demand increases, the pressure on the pipes to supply high-lying districts is so great that the pipes fracture.

Some years ago the Financial Times produced figures showing that a national water network would be cheaper than metering water to individual houses. Yet the water boards are pressing ahead with the metering option. Over 826 million gallons of water is lost each day from leaky company pipes. Regardless, a government sponsored report has recommended not only metering, but fitting new washers to taps.

Ironically Isambard Brunel over 150 years ago proposed a National Contour Canal that would have provided a supply of water to areas such as East Anglia. It would also provide a massive reserve. Even though this is a relatively simple task technically, investment has always been lacking. Private water companies nowdays prefer to hike up their profits and make us pay for their cost cutting.

John Walsh