Recently Environment Secretary, Steve Reed said the UK will run out clean water and have to introduce “water-rationing” within 10 years unless there is a huge investment in water and sewage.
What local residents should know is that buried in the evidence on water and sewage for Colchester’s local plan is a statement that Colchester and surrounding rural areas are “predicted to go into supply deficit by 2025”. In other words, as from this year there will not be enough water to meet the needs of the existing local population, let alone the 1,300 new houses the government have said Colchester must build for each of the next 15 years.
This is due to 1. Colchester’s recent population growth and 2. less water being available due to “climate change” creating a serious risk of the groundwater aquifer which supplies much of our water being made ruined by salt water being sucked into it.
I have lived in a country where there was water-rationing and it raises significant public health issues: you may not be able to flush the toilet for several hours daily, so flies land on both poo in the toilet and kitchen food; nor can you turn the tap on – so people get dehydrated with the elderly being particularly vulnerable. There is therefore a serious risk that failing to address this looming water crisis could contribute to the Colchester area seeing a significantly higher level of excess deaths during a heatwave.
Sadly, at last week’s local plan committee, the chair, Councillor Tim Young rather ungraciously blocked a motion I proposed, that the council seek an urgent meeting with Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, asking her to ensure Colchester gets the water and sewage infrastructure it needs to safely deliver the government’s house-building target.
Why a Labour councillor wants to stop the council meeting Labour minsters to get a better deal for Colchester is beyond me.
Dr Martin Parsons
Colchester City Councillor for Mersea and Pyefleet (Cons)
What local residents should know is that buried in the evidence on water and sewage for Colchester’s local plan is a statement that Colchester and surrounding rural areas are “predicted to go into supply deficit by 2025”. In other words, as from this year there will not be enough water to meet the needs of the existing local population, let alone the 1,300 new houses the government have said Colchester must build for each of the next 15 years.
This is due to 1. Colchester’s recent population growth and 2. less water being available due to “climate change” creating a serious risk of the groundwater aquifer which supplies much of our water being made ruined by salt water being sucked into it.
I have lived in a country where there was water-rationing and it raises significant public health issues: you may not be able to flush the toilet for several hours daily, so flies land on both poo in the toilet and kitchen food; nor can you turn the tap on – so people get dehydrated with the elderly being particularly vulnerable. There is therefore a serious risk that failing to address this looming water crisis could contribute to the Colchester area seeing a significantly higher level of excess deaths during a heatwave.
Sadly, at last week’s local plan committee, the chair, Councillor Tim Young rather ungraciously blocked a motion I proposed, that the council seek an urgent meeting with Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, asking her to ensure Colchester gets the water and sewage infrastructure it needs to safely deliver the government’s house-building target.
Why a Labour councillor wants to stop the council meeting Labour minsters to get a better deal for Colchester is beyond me.
Dr Martin Parsons
Colchester City Councillor for Mersea and Pyefleet (Cons)
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