Waste not, want not

The Director of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has been in touch, on behalf of five local conservation groups, to tell me of their deep concern about the desperate condition of the River Wylye. They seek my support in protecting one of this country’s most precious resources. They have it. Indeed, quite by coincidence, on the very day he wrote it, I was making a speech about it in the House. So, what’s up?

The chalk aquifer is like a sponge. It holds a vast amount of underground water which gravity feeds downwards and some is released as surface springs. So if there’s so much water going to ‘waste’ underground, why not tap into it to supply areas, which are short of water? That is why the water company, Wessex Water, takes water from boreholes in Salisbury Plain and pipes it to Yeovil, Chippenham and elsewhere. But how much – and what happens?

Last summer was hot and dry. The water table fell to its lowest level for over seventy years. But they just went on pumping. In fact, as I told The House, they pumped almost a billion litres a month from the upper Wylye. It was madness. The flow in the river dropped to 40% of its average – and by last month it was back to only 74% of normal. At one borehole, at Chitterne, the statement of intent agreed with Wessex Water, said abstraction at Chitterne would be a last resort. Instead, abstraction for five months was five times the target level. Why does this matter?

Let’s be honest, we’ve had our tap water on the cheap for years – in fact the price of water has been falling in real terms. Water that falls from the sky may be ‘free’ but the collection, treatment, distribution and disposal is expensive – and that’s what we have to pay for, now that tap water is as pure as bottled water in the supermarket.

The water company makes money by supplying the water we use at a price regulated by Ofwat, after negotiations with the consumer watchdog for low prices, Water Voice, and the government’s advisers English Nature and the Environment Agency. In the end, the Water Minister holds the ring. In his generous response to my speech he said he agreed with me, he recognised my arguments, I was right, he was happy to consider my points, he supported me, he heard my comments – but it was all very difficult!

If the price is too low, not only will the water company go for the cheapest option of draining every last drop it can from the edge of the Plain, it wont be able to invest in new mains, drains and sewage treatment works. So our rivers will remain polluted with sewage, phosphorous (mostly from washing machine detergents) and endocrine disruptors (‘the pill’ to you and me) which cause such damage to water life.

Our River Avon and its tributaries create one of the most special river basins in Europe – and Europe says so, which is why it is to be designated a very rare Special Area of Conservation. It is the most biodiverse river system in the UK – with over 180 species of aquatic plants and more fish (including salmon) and other creatures than most rivers.

Oh – just one thing. While Wessex Water drains one billion litres a month from Chitterne, across their area of Avon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, they lose 75 million litres every day through ‘leaks’. I reckon that’s about 25,000 tanker-loads a day, give or take the odd traffic jam! And they claim that is an ‘economic level’ they can live with. Do you agree? I don’t.

The rivers and streams of South Wiltshire are as precious a part of our heritage as our buildings, our culture and our language. If we don’t take care of them, we’ll lose them.

Robert Key
20th March 2004