Water being pumped out of River Leam to help fill Draycote

[dutchman]

Around ten million litres a day are being pumped out of the River Leam to help top up the Draycote Water reservoir, between Leamington and Rugby.



The water – the equivalent of filling at least four Olympic-size swimming pools a day – is being taken from the Leam near the Willes Meadow reservoir, by St Mary’s allotments in Leamington.

Reserves at Draycote Water, which supplies around 100,000 people, have fallen because of low winter rainfall.

The £500,000 scheme by Severn Trent will see the water piped nine miles and face a height gain of 50 metres, which is around 165ft.

The majority of the length will use an existing pipe which normally takes water in the opposite direction from Draycote to Leamington.

The last 800 metres is a new pipe which is being laid overland at Draycote.

Severn Trent spokeswoman Sarah O’Kane said the reservoir is now 50 per cent full, compared to a level of 60 per cent at the same time last year.

She said: “It’s quite a low level but we are doing lots of things to support Draycote.”

The company’s water resources manager Marcus O’Kane said: “Despite record low rainfall over the winter and the Environment Agency stating that parts of the region are officially in drought, we are doing everything possible to avoid restrictions for our customers this year.

“Over the last six months we have focused on moving raw water supplies across our water ‘grid’ from the wetter west to the drier east to balance out regional supplies.

“Dozens of measures are being taken to ensure our customers do not face any usage restrictions this year, including the scheme at Draycote.”

Kate Vickers, water production manager, said “At the moment Draycote reservoir has been effectively switched off and customers in the area are being supplied from Meriden.

“We will be able to pump up to a maximum of 12.5 million litres a day into Draycote, but our average amount of water will be around ten million litres.”

She added: “We have done everything we can to ensure that this work can happen safely and we are pleased to say that the whole of the site will be kept open during the work to allow people to visit as normal.”

[Spuffler]

That sounds a bit like digging one hole to fill another? The Leam isn't exactly a major river! I find it hard to understand why we can't just pump water form the North, where there's said to be plenty, to areas further south. Claims that we don't have a water network seem odd, since it has to be pumped around the country anyway, doesn't it? Givent that we've had problems like this before, you'd think someone would have done something to rectify the situation long before this; and since it isn't going to get better in the future, it would be a rather sensible investment to ensure that regions have linking pipes so that water can be moved around region to region.

[dutchman]

It's official - Coventry and Warwickshire in drought

THE ENVIRONMENT Agency has announced that the Midlands is now officially in drought.

The announcement follows the driest year on record, a second winter of below-average rainfall and only 40 per cent of average rainfall over the last two months.

The drought applies to Coventry and Warwickshire and also covers Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. The South East, Anglia and parts of Yorkshire are already in drought.

Paul Crockett, Midlands drought manager, said: “The whole of the Midlands is now in drought, reflecting the impact of the extremely dry last 18 months on the environment.

“We are already seeing early impacts on the environment and a dry summer will make this worse.”

He added: ““River levels are already very low for this time of year and we expect to see some drying up, which will affect people who use those waterways, as well as fish and other wildlife”

Reduced river flow, low water levels and higher water temperatures can cause problems for wildlife, particularly fish and wading birds.

The Environment Agency says sections of streams, rivers and wetlands could run so low it could lead to the loss of valuable habitats

But while environmentalists fear the drought will take its toll on wildlife and wetlands, water suppliers, including Severn Trent, say they don’t anticipate any impact on the public water supply.

Severn Trent says it’s not imposing a hosepipe ban, but will be continually reviewing the situation.

The Environment Agency says the recent lack of rain has led to low groundwater levels and exceptionally low river levels.

And although we have seen more rain so far in April, experts say it will take months of sustained rainfall to improve underground water and river levels.

Conservationists have already rescued fish from a river which receded four months earlier than usual.

Four other Midlands rivers also recorded the lowest monthly average flows on record during March.

The Environment Agency says it’s maintaining regular contact with the National Farmers’ Union, based at Stoneleigh Park, and other organisations about the impact of the dry weather on agriculture, business and land management.

They are appealing to the public to use water wisely and report any environment incidents by calling 0800 807060.

[dutchman]

No need for water rationing in Coventry, says Severn Trent.



Coventry's water supplier says there is no need for rationing in the city, despite warnings that standpipes could be on the streets of Britain next year.

Caroline Spelman, environment secretary and Meriden MP, warned in a BBC interview last night that “whereas it’s most unlikely we would have standpipes this year, if we have another dry winter that becomes more likely.”

Standpipes were used during the drought of 1976, when households had to collect buckets of water from the street to control domestic water use.

But Severn Trent, which supplies water across the Midlands, told the Telegraph it had planned ahead for the current drought and claims there’s no cause for concern.

Severn Trent spokesman Roger Clark said: “We realised this could be the case last year and we prepared for it.

“We realised one of our reservoirs – Draycote – would have issues with water levels so we started to plan to bring across water from the west of the region to that reservoir, building a pipe to connect our existing network to the reservoir.

“That came online earlier this year and has been a success.”

He added: “It’s business as usual for us. Whether it’s the middle of the winter or a really hot summer we always say that water’s a precious resource and we always promote saving it.

“But at the moment it’s the same message as we always give – no change.

“There’s a different situation further south where they’ve got less water.

“We can’t speak for the companies down there and whether they are considering standpipes or not.”

Drought was first reported in the south east before being announced across the Midlands two weeks ago, following 18 months of below-average rainfall.

Despite rainfall during April, the Environment Agency says the Midlands is still in drought because the prolonged period of dry weather before April has left the ground too dry to soak up heavy rain which is instead running off into rivers sparking flood warnings.

But Severn Trent is currently in talks with Anglia Water about selling supplies from the Midlands to the South East where a hosepipe ban is in force.

Mr Clark said: “The water we are proposing to send across would be from boreholes in Birmingham.

“We are not using that water – it’s surplus.

“Anglia need that water but if there’s spare water in another area at some point that we need, hopefully that would be reciprocated.”

[rebbonk]

[dutchman]

Wettest April lifts Coventry out of drought

THE wettest April on record has helped to lift Coventry and Warwickshire out of drought, the Environment Agency has announced.

The agency first declared the region was in drought almost four weeks ago, saying that 18 months of low rainfall had taken its toll.

Experts warned that the recent rainfall hadn’t been able to soak through the dry, compacted soil, leaving groundwater levels across the Midlands extremely low.

But almost as soon as the drought was announced heavy rainfall swept across the region, resulting in the wettest April across the UK since records began more than 100 years ago.

Now, despite stressing that groundwater supplies remain a concern, the Environment Agency has said the rainfall has “significantly increased river and reservoir levels”.

The Midlands, the South West and parts of Yorkshire are no longer in drought, but parts of East Anglia and the South East – where hosepipe bans have been declared – are still affected.

The news means it is now unlikely that hosepipe bans will be announced in the Midlands this summer.

Dr Paul Leinster, Environment Agency chief executive, said: “The recent record rainfall has eased pressure on water resources in some parts of England, helping levels in rivers and reservoirs to recover and providing relief to farmers, gardeners and wildlife.

“The Environment Agency will continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

Low groundwater levels remain a concern across many parts of England, with many still at a similar level to those in 1976 and unlikely to return to normal levels before the winter. A return to a long period of dry weather would increase the risk again.”

Caroline Spelman, environment minister and MP for Meriden, warned last week that standpipes could be necessary to ration water supplies if the country endures another dry winter. But Severn Trent says it planned for the drought and has repeatedly stressed the Midlands is not facing the shortages of the South East.

But almost as soon as the drought was announced heavy rainfall swept across the region

[Spuffler]

Given that global warming is causing sea levels to rise, you'd have thought that desalination plants would have been a very prudent thing to pursue, wouldn't you? But our masters in this country always seem to think that it's good to make us suffer.......