Water Poverty - in the UK - the Green & Pleasant land
- Thread starter Johnny Vincents Motorbike
- Start date
HarryVegas
Well-known member
We have a foodbank near us and the people who run it are proper heroes, just lovely folk who work at least as hard as employed, paid folk. The fact they have to do it at all is a national disgrace.
Nero
Well-known member
And to think the billionaires of this world have just become richer since 2008. The inequality in this world is just wrong.
BaronSmoggie
Well-known member
Just curious, but how much is spent on getting rid of leaks, because we seem to hear all the time that companies are missing targets for reducing leakage. This really irritates me because we get told, we are making things better, while the kids outside are having a free water party.
Nero
Well-known member
I don't know. What is worth considering though is the vast amount of infrastructure across the country. For every pipework that fails there's probably loads that never do.
Agree, it should surely be a planning condition for all new build to use grey water for these things. Other countries do it. And new builds should surely have solar as well?
BaronSmoggie
Well-known member
This isn't meant as disrespectful, but I find that answer hogwash. These companies have, collectively, paid more than £57b in dividends to shareholders over the last 30 years, averaging out at approximately £2b per year. For what was a long time, a public utility. Now imagine if that money had been invested in leakage prevention, it may stand at almost nil, which saves a precious resource and could ultimately lower bills for the most vulnerable even further. The leakage prevention now is done on a cost/benefit analysis, for something we need to simply survive. I find that unacceptable.
Millbrook
Well-known member
Because the alternative would be too costly to implement, although it may be possible to do something with new builds.
Nero
Well-known member
I don't disagree with you and it shows how privatisation hasn't been the saviour those behind neoliberalism claimed.
Redwurzel
Well-known member
I was 100% against Water privatisation - its a natural monopoly for one thing besides been such as an essential service/product. Welsh Water (my supplier) is now a not for Profit business which is good. The bills have risen faster than inflation which has caused problems. Plus lock down has meant people are using more water at home. We now have metering for most properties which adds to the cost of managing the network. Also sewage treatment has improved at a cost. I would never swim at sea say before 2000, especially area of the sea where I could see sewage outlets pipes (usually surrounded by an army of seagulls). Upgang beach at Whitby was one point - almost raw sewage was been discharged say 60 metres out at sea. At Whitby a treatment works was eventually built by Yorkshire Water and the cost passed on in their bills. Climate change has not helped water companies with water shortages appearing in the South East, there is no water grid in the UK. Rainwater tends to come in bigger bursts now but less frequent so more storage is required. Also many older urban areas need replacement sewage pipes for pipes that are up to 160 years old. Profits levels are controlled to some extent by the regulator, because of this some water companies moved into non regulated markets say outside the UK.
Measuring water costs per household after housing costs will increase the numbers on water poverty, because housing costs have been increasing faster than inflation too (nearly 8% a year at present). Higher housingh costs reduces the amount left to spend on say water. Freezing welfare benefit levels is borderline criminal to me, but it went on for a number of recent years, with some benefits actually cut such as significantly cutting the numbers claiming disability benefit and working tax credits. Often the very weakest in society are the silent ones and they have become an easy target for Government cutbacks. We have seen in the last 14 months where the rich have scooped up a lot of Government recent Covid related spending.
Measuring water costs per household after housing costs will increase the numbers on water poverty, because housing costs have been increasing faster than inflation too (nearly 8% a year at present). Higher housingh costs reduces the amount left to spend on say water. Freezing welfare benefit levels is borderline criminal to me, but it went on for a number of recent years, with some benefits actually cut such as significantly cutting the numbers claiming disability benefit and working tax credits. Often the very weakest in society are the silent ones and they have become an easy target for Government cutbacks. We have seen in the last 14 months where the rich have scooped up a lot of Government recent Covid related spending.
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Glover_elbow
Well-known member
Privatisation was an absolutely scandalous policy , what makes it even worse is in many cases these companies are now foreign owned. We should not have let any of our public assets land at the hands of foreign profiteers. it makes my blood boil.
and while we are at it charging more for electricity for people who use top-up keys, which tend to be used by the poorest is absolutely despicable as well.
and while we are at it charging more for electricity for people who use top-up keys, which tend to be used by the poorest is absolutely despicable as well.