Cycling around the giant puddles created across the borough by heavy rain last week, I was reading about the global shortage of water in the ‘Turning the Tide’ report. It’s hard to hold both realities in your head sometimes.
By the end of the decade, the world will not have enough fresh water to meet basic human needs.
Across Europe, we are currently in a long drought, with lakes and reservoirs at record low levels, and restrictions placed on water use.
Last year was the driest summer in 50 years.
Perhaps we tend to underestimate water because it literally falls from the sky. Yet our water supplies and sewage actually require huge inputs of energy.
Drinking water is cleaned and pumped to our houses, water is heated for washing and then waste water is pumped away and treated in an inefficient system that poisons aquatic ecosystems.
It is a scandal that privatised water companies have been allowed to waste so much clean water by failing to repair leaks, and to pump sewage into rivers and onto beaches.
Green Party policy is to bring water companies back into public ownership.
As with most things, we need a combination of individual action and structural changes. The average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water a day for drinking, cooking, cleaning and flushing.
You can save water by being more deliberate: turn off the tap when brushing teeth, shampooing, washing dishes – turn it on to rinse. A bath filled to the top contains as much as 160 litres of water, so make everyday baths shallower or swap them for showers. But keep an eye on how long you shower. A five-minute shower uses between 35 and 100 litres, depending on the flow rate. A long power shower could send three days’ worth of water down the drain!
Water meters are coming – they help us pay attention to what we’re using and can be a chance to save money. But we need to make sure that everyone has the water they need to keep healthy without worrying about the cost.
Water is a precious resource and a common good. Sharing and protecting it for all is a matter of social justice.
To find out more go to: turningthetidewatercommission.org