Have you seen The Big Upgrade? It’s the new campaign from a group of water companies to publicise what they are going to do about fixing the water environment.
It boasts the catchphrase ‘Big Plans for More Reservoirs’, and it makes it look like all of our concerns are pretty much unfounded. They go on to claim that “our population is growing, so we will need more water”, and that “by doing the work today, we’re protecting our water supply for tomorrow”.
You’ll forgive me for asking the obvious question…. where have you been? Like yesterday, last week or even for the last few years? It doesn’t take the brains of Albert Einstein to work out that we need more water, but if this lot had been more interested in protecting our water resource than making obscene amounts of money and paying the CEOs such huge financial packages for abject failure, we wouldn’t be in the mess that we are currently.
Apparently, there’s going to be £100 billion invested between 2025 and 2030, creating 30,000 new jobs in the building of 10 new reservoirs. We will look forward to seeing this come to fruition, but there are a lot of obstacles in the way, such as our archaic planning and regulatory systems.
Then there are the nimbys, and the huggers (of all varieties, be they furry, feathered, leathered or barked). All in all, it will scupper any real hope of getting anything like this across the line within 15 years, let alone five.
I’ll not hold my breath.
Reservoirs are under more pressure than ever before | Credit: Dave Healey
