The Archive contains articles which are either of general interest, or have been the cause of concern in the past and remain unresolved.

Water Everywhere

Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary in 1663 that it rained non-stop from June to December with severe flooding throughout southern England, so Autumn 2000 was not exceptional in that respect. The evidence for warm climate cycles is in the historic records: the last cycle started about 1880 and peaked about 1950. Two years ago the rivers around Rickmansworth and in Southern England ran dry, all the environmentalists wrung their collective hands, booked their slot on the TV and pronounced that we would be living in a desert in 10 to 20 years. Even TV gardeners led the way with their Mediterranean planting schemes and mulching to conserve water. Well, it seemed a good idea at the time. However my mulch was last seen in late Autumn 2000 floating down Berry Lane on a tidal wave of "drought". So much for the cactus garden, it’s back to the rainforest for me.
The drought, of course, had the hosepipe bans enforced, with the threat of neighbours squealing on – sorry reporting – those criminals who use a hosepipe in the summer. The charge for an outside tap went up along with the threat of water meters, the consumer to bear the cost of installation of course. Will there be a reduction this year, I wonder? Silly me, water charges only go up and rain comes down along with that other stuff from the sky.
Had a look recently at the Colne or Chess? Even the canal towpath opposite Tesco’s was flooded, as was the Aquadrome car park.
I don’t suppose the fact that the planet Earth on its eleven-year cycle around the sun was at its closest to the sun in 1998, the closest for a decade, had anything to do with the drought. No, of course not, it was all down to global warming we were told, whilst scientists popped their bids in for study grants and the European Governments raised green taxes.
Of course as the oceans warm up you get more evaporation, and hence more clouds, and heaven forbid, a natural action of more clouds more precipitation; sorry, rain to you and me. The fact that it takes two years for the ocean to release its vapour on us only goes to show that Nature does things in her own time, and according to the TV schedulers or spin-doctors from the Department of the Environment!
"Don't Panic, water is a bit short" we were told during the drought, "in the meantime and to be on the safe side we will have to raise the water rates for 'supply improvements'". Well, on the bright side, a new storm drain was proposed for Valley Road, or we could have a new lake in Rickmansworth.
I don't suppose that any of this year's excess rain was redirected back into the aquifer. No, too simple and the wrong type of rain; after all, the water was too polluted, we were told. Ah that's where my mulch went to! So perhaps we should purify it before restoring the excess to the aquifer.
I wonder if Thames Water has ever heard of reed bed purification, a cheap, clean and environmentally friendly way of cleaning large amounts of water? Once again I’ve got it wrong, water companies do not get paid for putting water back into the earth, only taking it out.
There is a nice plot of water meadow up for sale in Moor Lane, highly suitable for a reed bed and willow tree plantation with lots of nice insects and birds, "a real natural water filter", better than all the bottled stuff in the shops, with a borehole system to top up the aquifer for future years.
Too simple, too expensive; better to have cheap housing in places like Moor Lane and the old depot near Stockers Lock, both areas of flood plain. Got to house people somewhere after all’s said and done, and a flood plain would seem as good a place as anywhere to put them. We can all wring our hands every decade or so when a flood occurs. Apart from the personal misery that flooding creates, the costs are passed on with a general increase in local house insurance, not to mention increases in council tax.
We have had it all in the last few years; no water, too much water. Is it not time the Three Rivers DC did something, instead of just talking about it? Such as actually plant some trees and tell the water companies that there is no such thing as the wrong type of rain, only poor water management. Is it not time to put things right?
By the late Bob Warren, Committee Member

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