Bottled verses Tap water

Bottled water cost in the UK £1.5bn every year, also cost us natural resources, the water needs to be extracted, bottled and transported to shops, and there is the impacts of the production of the bottles themselves. Research shows that European standards for factory bottled water can be lower than ordinary tap water in the UK. If the bottle stands too long at warm temperatures, harmful toxins, phthalates, can leach from the plastic to the water. It is taking time for the trickle down effects of changing from bottled water to tap water to occur, but with this new research showing that it may be better than bottled water, why are we still so reliant and convinced that bottled water is better.

 Source : Guardian News – http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2218815,00.html#article_continue

Dhaka – Bangladesh’s Water Resource Problems

After the aid agencies pull out of Bangladesh following the recent cyclone, donations will stop coming into the area, 200 people will die every hour from poor living conditions and water contaminated with raw sewage. When the UN drew up its plans  for millennium development goals sanitation was low on the agenda, and ensuring that the children of slum dwellers, such as in Dhaka, would have proper sanitation safeguarding their water supply did not feature. WaterAid states that the financing of education will go to waste if the children are too ill with diarrhoea to go to school. Britain is one of the few countries to make a priority of water and sanitation and has supported the military-backed government in Bangladesh in its attempt to provide 100% access to sanitation not by 2015 but by 2010. There is now 100% sanitation coverage, which is benefiting women in particular.

Source :  Guardian Environmental News - http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/26/economics.naturaldisasters

Yorkshire water failed to take action on flood warnings

The floods in June of this year affected 9000 homes and businesses in Hull because Yorkshire water failed to act upon warnings of the disaster, an independent review stated yesterday.“Using evidence from a series of reports commissioned by Yorkshire Water over a period of 11 years, a series of clear recommendations … were made to Yorkshire Water. We conclude that had prior warnings and advice been heeded from 1996 onwards, some properties in Hull would have not been flooded,” the report said.Yorkshire water defended their decisions and stated that no drainage system could have coped with the volume of water that fell in June, 250mm. At some points 6mm falling every hour the system was overwhelmed.The report however was not merely blaming Yorkshire water but other organisations who share responsibility for water management in the area. The report discovered that the city had no contingency plans, no list of strategic locations and no flash flood warning system. The panel suggested that Hull’s flood defences need to be reviewed with climate change in mind, which is likely to increase the frequency and severity of storm events. 

Source : Guardian Environmental News – http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/nov/22/flooding.utilities

Southern Water faces £20.3m fine from Ofwat

Ofwat plans to fine the water company for “deliberately misreporting information” about its performance, due to this they were able to raise its prices by more than it should have. The fine is also for poor process and systems meaning that its customers received a poor service. Southern’s chief Les Dawson accepts the fine, Southern had taken prompt action once the misreporting had been discovered, and returning money owed to customers who paid higher bills. Ofwat stated that it is Southern’s shareholders that would bear the entire cost of the fine and it will not be passed on to customers. 

Source : BBC News – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7093924.stm

China’s Environmental Degradation

Water pollution and scarcity are affecting China’s economy, with air pollution affecting the health of its citizens. A record level of growth has lead to the consumption of vast quantities of resources. China holds the fourth largest freshwater resources in the world however two thirds of its cities have less water than is required and 110 suffer shortages. Three quarters of river water flowing through urban areas are unsuitable for drinking and fishing, and 30% of river water through the company is deemed to be unfit for use for agriculture or industry. Therefore 700m people drink contaminated water. Many species of fish in the yellow river are extinct due to damming or pollution. With much of its population taking to the streets in protest of contaminated water and air and the Beijing Olympics only a few months away, China needs to take serious action. © 2007 Council on Foreign Relations, publisher of Foreign Affairs

Source: Times Newspaper – http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article2846875.ece

Water Consumer Council report on complaint handling

Complaint handling in the water industry in England and Wales 2006-07 was publishes at the end of October this year by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater). This report showed a 30% increase in the number of written complaints reported to Ofwat by companies. This is for a year that has seen an above inflation price rise in Southern England, due to the most severe droughts of the past century.

However this figure is comparatively small compared to the scale of the service provided, companies have also dealt with 99.5% of complaints without CCWater’s involvement.

 

Source : Water UK – http://www.water.org.uk/home/news/press-releases/ccw-complaints-31-oct-07

Major concerns still for Europe’s Environment

The European Environment Agency (EEA) released a fourth report on 53 European countries and their environmental situation, highlighting many significant factors, including poor water quality across the region.

According to this report, there are serious problems, especially in rural areas over drinking water, “More than 100 million people in the pan-European region still do not have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation”, this report states. Climate change will only affect the frequency and severity of droughts which will put further strain on the affected areas.

In a recent debate by the EU member states over water the Commission suggested higher water prices as part of a July communication on water scarcity and drought, after an earlier Green Paper on adaptation to climate change, in attempt to mitigate future problems of water supply due to the changing climate.

Source IEMA News: – http://www.iema.net/news/envnews?aid=17791

Original source: http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjY2NjQ (11th October 2007)

Severn Trent fined for polluting canal

Severn Trent has been fined £13,330 by the Environment Agency for polluting the Lydney Canal in Gloucestershire with raw sewage, under the Water Resources Act 1991. This has dramatically affected the fish stocks in the area which will take time to recover, due to lowered oxygen levels. This has attempted to be rectified by opening the Severn Estuary tidal gates to flush out the polluted water.

The Gloucestershire Echo – http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232193&contentPK=18739752&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

Resource Management in India and Pakistan

In 2000 Gujarat in India and Pakistan’s Punjab province sufferd the most severe droughts in 100 years, a report stated that the region needed to learn how to manage its water resources. Local and international disagreements between India and Pakistan have caused a dispute to erupt. As both countries have shared water from the Ganges, this has put further strain on their relationship.Water shortages cause death through reduced crop yields, shortage and waterborne disease, however many experts believe that the current shortages are due to poor planning and not actual shortages of water.

BBC News – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/719760.stm

Kent long term water supply

To deal with supply issues, residents will be required to cut their water consumption to 30 litres per day to comply with plans drawn up to tackle supply issues over the next 25 years. In response to the two year drought in South East England, from 2004 to 2006, Managing Director of Folkestone and Dover water stated that they need to ensure a secure supply and a safety factor to take the area through difficult times. As the area concerned is one of the driest in the country, relying on underground water resources, from mainly chalk and gravel aquifers, it is essential to ensure the high quality and sustainable supply of water for the area.

BBC News – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7042376.stm