MAIN FEATURE
Water cycle courtesy
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magnesium limestone, Permian sandstone, carboniferous limestone and the fell sandstone and border group. The British Geological Survey’s website is a fascinating place (Welcome to BGS - British Geological Survey).
According to National Geographic, about 30 per cent of the available fresh water on our planet is stored in aquifers, which makes them about the most important water resource without desalination.
Although aquifers might be where our water dribbles down to on land, there are also rivers which ultimately flow into the sea, thereby becoming part of that salty 97 per cent of water on this planet. Perhaps using beavers to dam rivers isn’t such a bad idea after all. We need to hold on to more of our 1 per cent of fresh water and store it better for the hotter times. So, we actually don’t want it all dribbling away, whether through leaks or natural drainage.
Can we expect more rain in the future?
Of course, a lot of water evaporates due to sun, heat and wind, and ends up back in the clouds, ready to fall on us again at an appropriate (or not-so-appropriate) time. The hotter it is, the more this evaporation
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occurs, ironically generating even more rain in some places. This is why the UK has been told to expect milder but wetter winters. And this is why our infrastructure needs to be much more robust to cope with increased water flows as well as somehow to mitigate the pollution that we are currently allowing into our natural waterways.
We do tend to take our clean water supply for granted in the UK. But it is certainly our responsibility to reduce our own water usage and to incorporate more efficient appliances to use less water. Measuring it is also good as we can better identify where it is going, although currently some of our underground drains and sewers are still unknown – astonishing really that after so many years in operation, there are still some hidden networks down there. But as the saying goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s only when problems occur that a few of these hidden networks are revealed for the first time.
SuDS is vitally important in that these more recently developed systems, structures and methods (both natural and man-made) can really help improve the capacity of holding water and minimising sudden run-offs, although so much of our
| March 2025 |
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existing housing has been built with non- permeable paving so this needs improvements too. Every new development in the UK needs a proper and comprehensive flood plan, looking way into the future when there may be a lot more extreme weather.
Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 will make SuDS mandatory for all new developments, along with local SuDS Approving Bodies (SABs) to assess long-term maintenance and likely repairs needed. It’s a start. Meanwhile, we watch the state of the UK (and indeed the world’s) water coming and going with growing concern. None of us should take having clean, fresh water for granted, wherever it comes from or goes to.
Many thanks to all those who contributed to this feature.
Written by Bridget Summers
bridget@footprintpr.org.uk
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