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rise. We are constantly fighting coastline erosion as it is. And that’s from the sea – what falls onto us out of the sky is another matter. Warmer climates equal more rain clouds and therefore wetter conditions for us in the UK, they are saying.
Rainwater generally has to go through the same systems that our sewerage and wastewater go through – unless it’s diverted elsewhere. Normally, the gutter down pipes to buildings and the paved areas and highways all flow into the same network of drains.
If we had adopted Edwin Chadwick’s system of separating rainwater from sewage water back in the 1850s (around the time of The Great Stink – Dr John Snow had identified the spread of cholera through a water pump being contaminated by sewage water) – rather than engineer Joseph Bazalgette’s combined system, we might not be in this pickle today. In London back then Bazalgette’s system was designed to discharge around 12 times a year (during the heaviest rain storms) but it currently discharges around 60 times a year. Maybe we chose the wrong sewage system back in 1856. But that system is part of our infrastructure and has been for a long time. It would take a lot of disruption, let
alone funding, to change it drastically now.
I can’t help but be reminded of the Game of Thrones meme ‘You know nothing, John Snow!’ That’s certainly not correct when applied to the above Dr John Snow, is it?
Do read Ed Conway’s fascinating article for Sky on Britain’s water system (October 2023) that doubtless was written when the sewerage outfall controversary really got going last year: Down the drain: What went wrong with Britain's water system? | Science & Tech News | Sky News
Also of interest is Gill Plimmer and Ella Hollowood’s FT article from August 2023: Victorian sewers not to blame for England’s pollution, research shows (ft. com) showing that the Victorians might not be completely to blame for our current predicament.
Conclusion
They say some of the world is running out of water and that is what future wars will be fought over. Perhaps that’s hard to believe after one of the wettest 12 months the UK has ever seen, but even so, we all need to increase the efficient collection of grey water and reduce the constantly increasing rates of water and
wastewater use by each of us. We are lucky in the UK; we can drink our water straight from the tap, most of the time. Some households in Devon might have disputed that statement at the time of writing although that issue seems to have been resolved now – a classic example of ‘bad stuff’ getting into the fresh water supply. We certainly need to stop polluting our freshwater rivers and streams with wastewater and the bad stuff from run-off, whether it’s from highways, agricultural land or elsewhere.
Generally, we should be very grateful that our potable water is mostly entirely potable. It’s not safe to drink water from the tap in many other countries of the world. But our wastewater infrastructure certainly needs serious attention if it is to keep functioning and keep us safe in an increasingly uncertain future, whether it continues to be the combined system or whether we eventually start to separate it out. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, they say. But is there? And what will it all ultimately cost?
Thanks to everyone who helpfully contributed to this article with comments and opinions and photographs.
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| August 2024 |
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