Indeg
Jones - 11-Sep-2006 - The Environment Agency today
said that a large-scale water grid from Wales
or the north of England was not the answer to
water shortages in the south east of England.
Announcing its report into the
practicality of a national water grid, the Environment
Agency said sharing water between neighbouring
water companies, reducing leaks, encouraging water
savings in the home and industry and building
new reservoirs were better, more sustainable solutions.
The report found it would cost
up to £15 billion to build a national water
grid of five pipelines large enough to carry 1000
megalitres a day roughly 560km from the northern
Pennines to London. This would be more than four
times as expensive as building new reservoirs.
A smaller transfer from Wales
would be two or three times more expensive than
building new reservoirs in the south east of England.
Pumping water such long distances would be expensive
and would result in a large increase in emissions
of greenhouse gasses.
Graham Hillier, acting Director
of Environment Agency Wales, said:
"Transferring water from
Wales to meet the needs of the south east of England
is not the best option. Making better use of water
by reducing leakage and better water efficiency
is more sustainable and cost-effective.
"It is important that we
protect the rich diversity of our environment
in Wales. Our rivers and lakes support many rare
plants and animals. To protect this for future
generations, we all have a role to play by using
water wisely.
"The report shows that
water companies can meet future water demand over
the next 25 years without the need for a national
grid. Our national strategy for water resources
identifies the need for new resource developments,
but not on the scale of a national grid. Other
measures, such as demand management, reducing
leakage and metering, also have a big role to
play in managing our water supplies."
The report highlights:
The cost of constructing a national
grid - up to £15 billion - is equivalent
to £8-14 million per megalitre a day. It
would also cost millions of pounds in ongoing
operating costs. Water companies estimate that
the total cost of building seven new or extended
reservoirs to meet demand is about £1.6
million per megalitre per day.
The possible impacts that a
national grid could have on the environment, including
the transfer of water using rivers. There is also
a risk of transfer of fish diseases and alien
species.
It would only be worth building
a water grid if the demand for water in south
east England exceeded the available supply, there
were no cheaper options locally and water companies'
existing plans were inadequate.
Graham Hillier said there was
agreement between the National Assembly of Wales,
central Government Ministers, regulators and the
water companies that a national water grid was
not needed and there are much better solutions.
The last time a national grid
was looked at in detail was in 1973 by the Water
Resources Board. In 1994, the National Rivers
Authority also looked at a range of options to
meet future water demand.
A national water grid would
involve connecting all the major reservoirs and
boreholes, allowing water to be shared between
all of them in a network similar to the national
electricity grid. Smaller transfers of water already
exist between some water companies.
The report, Do we need
large-scale water transfers for south east England?
is available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
