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Britain Could Run Short of Water by 2050, Official Says (nytimes.com)
To the casual observer, Britain -- an island nation that's no stranger to rain -- could not get much wetter. From a report: But, as it turns out, that's a fallacy. And if preventive steps are not taken, in less than three decades, Britain might run out of water, the chief executive of the Environment Agency, a public body responsible for conservation in England, said on Tuesday. "On the present projections, many parts of our country will face significant water deficits by 2050, particularly in the southeast, where much of the U.K. population lives," the agency chief, James Bevan, said at a conference on water use.
In about 20 to 25 years, demand could close in on supply in what Mr. Bevan called "the jaws of death -- the point at which, unless we take action to change things, we will not have enough water to supply our needs." The reasons, he said, were climate change and population growth. And he called for a change of attitude toward water conservation to help tackle the problem. "We need water wastage to be as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby or throwing your plastic bags into the sea," Mr. Bevan said. Many in Britain, citing the often rainy weather and expressing frustration with the infamously high levels of leakage from underground pipes, tend to belittle warnings about water shortages.
In about 20 to 25 years, demand could close in on supply in what Mr. Bevan called "the jaws of death -- the point at which, unless we take action to change things, we will not have enough water to supply our needs." The reasons, he said, were climate change and population growth. And he called for a change of attitude toward water conservation to help tackle the problem. "We need water wastage to be as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby or throwing your plastic bags into the sea," Mr. Bevan said. Many in Britain, citing the often rainy weather and expressing frustration with the infamously high levels of leakage from underground pipes, tend to belittle warnings about water shortages.
A perfect application for solar energy for a place surrounded by ocean... not seeing any real issue here that isn't readily solvable with known tech. And it's not like they have to transition to getting all their water that way, just some percent on the order of a tenth or so
"We need water wastage to be as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby or throwing your plastic bags into the sea,"
At least I'm socially acceptable.
I only blow smoke in plastic bags and throw babies into the sea!
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Since when is it socially unacceptable to blow smoke in the face of a baby?
Do you even know what that baby said?
Yes, there's plenty of water... As you point out- the island is surrounded by water... it's just an expensive supply of water to make drinkable. Britain won't run out of water... they just might run out of cheap drinking water.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Seems to me both Scotland and Wales will be fine.
Maybe once the rest of the UK becomes Lesser Britain, you can invest you post-Brexit riches in water desalination plants, like they do in Santa Barbara?
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The heading should be "South East Britain Will Run Short of Water Most Years".
Endless building, removal of local drainage, and the fact that it doesn't rain all that much down there is starting to tell. Round here in the North West we have more water than we can use - now if there was an Environmental Agency with the vision to implement a national water grid things might be better. Unfortunately the Agency is toothless and more concerned with leaving waterways to get clogged up and causing widespread flooding.
Phil.
...said no scientist.
Asshole anonymous cowards keep posting these purported "predictions" which are in fact made up completely.
First rule of /.: if an anonymous coward posts something, more than likely it's bullshit.
Oh, and, no place in Britain is more than 70 miles from the coast line- so if desalination was used as a last resort for fresh water at least it wouldn't have far to travel...
From the summary: "Domestic and industrial consumption is a relatively small part of the picture, he explained, with the water needed for agriculture perhaps being of greater concern."
It's reasonably plausible to desalinate a small amount of water for drinking, or even the slightly larger amount for washing, cooking, and bathing. But domestic water is trivial compared to the large amounts of water used in agriculture.
scientists: by 2050 Britain may run out of water...
british: *shrug*
scientists: Tea...is made with water...
british:: GOD SAVE THE QUEEN WE MUST ACT.
scotland:: kicks in the door AEY IS NO EVEN A QUESHUN DIDNYE KNOW BEER COME FROM WA'UH LADS
Good people go to bed earlier.
Britain has old pipes. Most water loss is through those pipes leaking. Replace the pipes and the outcome will be water security and a few years of massive road blockages as they dig up every road.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
it's just an expensive supply of water to make drinkable
Not really. Tons of the stuff literally falls out of the sky in drinkable condition. That's actually sort of the problem. The UK gets so much rain that it's never really been worthwhile to invest in the infrastructure to capture and store more than a tiny fraction of it. All this article is really saying is that as the population grows, that tiny fraction will need to increase. Which is hardly a startling revelation.
-- Note to Mods: There is a good reason there's no "-1 Disagree" option. --
...who predicted the end of Snow in Britain?
Holy fuck. Enough with these stupid, alarmist and unsupported "predictions"
Hey, at least they have water and whiskey or scotch.
No wonder they're leaving you after Brexit.
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I just have a hard time picturing 66 million people scratching their heads about "how to get water", while it's pouring on their heads from above almost daily, and completely surrounding them.
Politics; n. : A religion whereby man is god.
Idiot activist says something idiotic...like polar ice caps could completely disappear by 2004.
The AGW activist community repeats again and again.
It makes its way into official reports
News papers publish breathless articles.
People chain themselves to shit in protest.
Scientists say nothing
When the idiot prediction fails, activists mutter, "..said no scientist."
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
People don't seem to realize how little clean water there is.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
... not to mention you then have to figure out what to do with the salt that is produced by such a process.
Logically, they will put it on their chips.
You could easily build passive solar desal and use the salt to sell as "Cornish Sea Salt" to the gourmet food market.
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Britain is surrounded by water, true, but it doesn't get sunshine...
Whoah! Hold up there Boudreaux, the British pallet can't handle those kind's of spices!
"...The reasons, he said, were climate change and population growth...."
Really? Climate change means there's less water now?
Because JUST LAST YEAR I saw everyone complaining that Climate Change had caused TOO MUCH water and heavy rainfall/flooding generally, consistently, and broadly across the UK.
"...new Met Office report, based on figures stretching back 100 years to 1910- shows that rainfall has actually gone up by 8 percent. ...The annual State of the UK Climate Report also revealed UK summers have been notably wetter over the last decade from 2008 to 2017, with 20 per cent more rainfall compared to 1961-1990...."
https://www.express.co.uk/news...
Oh, also, since they're focusing on the South and East of England, also last year: ...also predicted heavier and more frequent rain across southern England.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...
So which is it? Climate change means the UK is running out of water, OR climate change means the UK is flooding with water. You really can't assert both.
-Styopa
No one on earth is running out of water. They are running out of cheap water.
That's a self solving problem. Water costs go up, waste goes down.
"Britain is surrounded by water, true, but it doesn't get sunshine"
- From A Song of the Weather by the British comedy songwriters and performers Flanders & Swann - the weather of the title is British weather:
In July the sun is hot?
Is it shining? No it's not.
You're quite right. The EU was indeed presented in a dishonest manner - since the 1950s - to get people to not realize they were headed into a corporatist superstate until it was too late. Except it wasn't, resulting in the disruptive process that you see unfolding.
By 2050, the cost of desalinated water could be quite reasonable. However, we need to start soon, and incentivize appropriate technologies. Reverse Osmosis plants will always be high maintenance, and use electricity which is expensive and wasteful. Multi-Effect Distillation uses half the electricity of RO, plus some thermal energy, which can be supplied by heat rejected from power plants, that would otherwise go to waste.
The key is to combine the processes, which will decrease the cost of both electricity and co-products like desalinated water. Since thermal plants are typically 30-60% efficient in generating electricity, there are large opportunities for making use of that heat for industrial processes. High temperature nuclear reactors are especially attractive, and offer more options for co-generation, including synthetic fuels and ammonia. This also allows reactors to run continuously at 100% power, while adapting to demand by varying generation of co-products.
The economics favor coupling co-generation to reliable sources of energy. Using excess renewable capacity is substantially more challenging, and of questionable benefit. For such plants to be cost effective, they can't be sitting idle most of the time, waiting for sporadic bursts of energy.
apparently one of the few groups of foreigners ever to do so.