Jul 28 2007
Providing enough water for homes in Britain
Last summer we were rightly worried about too little water being collected?? by our water industry to allow us to water the gardens as well as wash the dishes. We were being urged to cut down on the showers, drive dirty cars and let the bedding plants die.
This summer, tragically, many homes have no drinking water in the taps because they are flooded . There are some questions about?? the response of the Water suppliers to the crisis
The reason we appear to be short of drinking water is that we allow the main companies to retain their monopoly over domestic and most business supply. We are not short of water to collect and clean in the UK . We use very little of the rain that falls. Water is the ultimate renewable resource, as the water cycle takes water to the sea and returns it through the clouds.
We could transform the response of the industry if we opened the whole market up to competition. We would doubtless see?? a cascade of innovation in quality and?? service as we did in telecoms. New businesses would emerge to collect and clean water. Some might decide to supply different grades of water for different purposes. Borehole water and water from the wetter parts of the country would become available.
The Regulators would have two tasks. As now, they should prevent removal of too much water from a river or stream to endanger it. They should also act as compulsory arbitrators where competing companies could?? not reach agreement on access to the main pipes, as the pipe network would have to be a common carrier.
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
JR:
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I remember a good few years ago word going around that the water supply would be deregulated like the gas and electricity industry. It was welcome news to sales people whos customers were fed up by now of being approached for gas and electricty deals.
We weren’t just being urged to spend less time in the shower, Ken Livingstone wanted us to stop flushing the loo!
Surely the main issue here is the land that is needed to store the water on, or in if underground. Up here, we’ve got Kielder Reseviour, and never really use any of it. Scotland is full of water too. Isn’t there some way of getting water from North to South? I’ve heard the canals mentioned as a possible solution before, but somehow can’t see the viability myself.
What’s to stop us making another couple of Kielders and moving the water. Surely a water pipeline can make money as a toll bridge or gas pipeline does?
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