The water is wide, I cannot swim oooooooover

[ailbhe]

We are not in the affected area but Thames Water do supply our water and it does seem to be in short supply right now.

Water-saving measures we have recently undertaken:

• Using a dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand (saving about 20 litres a day, which is embarrassing)


• Rob and Linnea bath together


• Rainwater from the paddling pool was used to water the garden when it was too icky to paddle in any more


• R+L had a soapless bath and the water was used for the paddling pool, with lots of salt in so that it will take longer to go icky


• More leftover bathwater was used for watering the garden


• I left the plug in when I had a shower to we can use the revolting soapy water for something like loo-flushing if we find another bucket

I really am annoyed that we don't have lots of information from Thames Water about greywater flushing and how to set it up - it can't be that complicated. We've ordered a waterbutt with the bits and pieces for fitting it but the waiting list is long.

The big problems, as far as I can tell, here where we are, are landfill waste and water usage. I wish the people who manage these things - the people I pay are the council and Thames Water - would tell me what I can do to stop making it any worse than I have to.

Comments

[merryhouse.livejournal.com]

ah well, that's because you didn't experience the Great Drought of 1976.

I don't know whether they had that in Ireland. Actually - ooops - I don't even know whether they had that in Scotland. Come to think of it, did they have it *here*?

Ok, that's starting to get silly.

There was a Big Shortage, caused by a very dry 1975 followed by a very dry 1976. I know For A Fact that it reached at least as far as Leicestershire. It is fondly recalled as having affected the entire country, which I doubt.

I don't know whether the current situation darn sarf is as bad as then. It wasn't the annual sigh that you get nowadays. Power cuts were rather more common (no, I was too young to remember the Three-Day Week).

I remember the hose snaking out of the upstairs window, too.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

The Big Shortage of 1976 certainly was much worse here in Oxfordshire than it is at present (I'm 12 miles from where I lived back in 1976), although I imagine six weeks of this kind of weather would take us to the same stage pretty easily. The spring of 1976 was quite wet though, IIRC, where this year hasn't been, so much. I vaguely remember the end of the three day week, just about (it ended just before I was two - I can remember odd things from 18m on). We had to fill thermoses full of hot water every morning before the power went out. It happened again in the Winter of Discontent (78-9).

Waterbutts - ailbhe, where did you order yours from? Our council sent us bumf about it but it turned out to be cheaper (and quicker) to get one from B&Q (about £20 cheaper, which surprised me).

[ailbhe]

Ours was from somewhere the council gave us bumf about, but it would have been quicker to get one from B&Q. Not £20 cheaper though, unless B&Q are selling them for about £25 incl pipes and stuff.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

£20 including tap and lid, and about another £8 for the pipes. Oxfordshire wanted £35 for the butt alone, not counting lid!

[ailbhe]

Ours is, if it ever gets delivered, just under £30 incl stand, tap, lid, pipes, and delivery charge. So that's ok.

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Via Yorkshire Water we got a big butt, stand, drainpipe connector kit, watering can, and a BFO composter, for 35 quid delivered. I was wondering what would happen when they tried to deliver and we weren't in, I was imagining all kinds of hassle, but they took a look at the area and decided it'd be OK to just leave it by our garage door. I plumbed it into the drainpipe yesterday. Which is why it hasn't rained, and won't for a while.

[flybabydizzy.livejournal.com]

oh, yes, the old un here remembers the 3 day week. I was temping at the tax office, and had to have a torch to go into the filing room, as it had no windows. We were ok in the main office, as it was a modern block with large windows. I was temping for Severn Trent Water Authority during the '76 drought, and remember all that, bathwater on the roses, etc; actually soapy water is supposed to be reasonably good for discouraging aphids. I also recall visiting the Tryweryn Dam reservoir (which I also remember as a lovely wooded valley) we walked right down to the bottom, and investigated the remains of a bridge, and found a broken firegrate from the remains of a bulldozed house.
I'd feel much more like conserving water if there was not such horrendous waste from leaks and sloppy commercial use.
I seem to remember that Paris uses water reclaimed from sewage treatment plants for streetwashing and in the fountains