The UK like many countries is prone to floods and to water shortages.
When we had a fully nationalised water industry in my youth we faced water rationing in summers with hosepipe bans and in some cases standpipe water. Since then we have had a large increase in population with regulated private monopolies not building additional reservoir capacity. They say they could not charge enough to pay for expansion. The Regulator never told them to expand capacity. Cutting UK CO 2 will have no impact on all the extra  demand a fast growing population creates. The government needs to tell the Regulators to require an expansion of capacity.
Our flooding matters more now than in the past because governments and Councils have allowed and encouraged too much building on flood plains. The Planning regulators have failed to put in sufficient drainage capacity. The Environment Agency has failed  to dredge rivers and expand capacity of ditches and culverts to get water away from buildings. Cutting migration numbers would help. A concerted programme of water diversion is essential Again decarbonising the UK will not stop floods on floodplains.
Sea defences need improving where spending can protect towns and cities. We should be working on a new London barrage further down the estuary.
January 12, 2025
Good morning.
A lot of problems can be traced back to one thing – MASS IMMIGRATION. The other problem is the dishonest way successive governments have handled this issue and their failure to plan for said population increases.
If you plan to increase the size of your business, and the current premises does not meet your projected growth, you look for new and bigger. possibly close by. You do not sit on your backside waiting for someone else to pick up the baton or carry the can. That would be dereliction of duty.
January 12, 2025
A dereliction of duty indeed, but that is what we have had this in spades from John ERM fiasco Major through to Starmer. This on immigration levels, on post office workers, on blood contamination, on the NHS, the Hillsborough disaster, the net zero laws, on passing powers to unaccountable EU and world bodies, Blair’s counterproductive wars, the insanity of climate alarmism, the idiotic energy policies, the lack of housing, the deliberate road blocking, the net harm Covid Lockdowns and duff Covid Vaccines, the water provision, flood management, our no deterrent policing the two tier justice system…
Absurdly high (and complex taxes) yet almost nothing of quality or value is delivered in return.
January 12, 2025
One can easily save a lot of water at home. Using grey water to reuse water to flush loos (or only flushing when really needed), collect roof water for watering the garden or do no do so and bathing only once a month or so perhaps using shared bath water – whether needed or not.
But in a country with such plentiful rainfall we really should not have to do this. Charges for water should be higher in summer drought periods perhaps in some regions – perhaps to fund any extra reservoirs needed. Not obviously in Wales, Manchester, Scotland the Lakes and the West of England which all have rather too much rain and clouds already.
January 12, 2025
The population has increased by 25% over the past 30 years as a result of open borders and incomers breeding at a rapid rate
1.5 million houses to be built in 3 years. All to cater for immigration. The culture and tolerance of this tiny island is being deliberately destroyed by the uniparty in some misguided attemp to atone for white privilege.
There is a shrinking tax base to cover all these improvements so we end up paying the highest prices for utilities than anywhere in the world.
Until there is a net outflow of population especially those who don’t contribute things will get worse.
January 12, 2025
“The UK decarbonising will not protect us from floods and droughts” of course it will not. Indeed not only that but even worldwide cutting of CO2 will do nothing significant or good to the climate even if that happened. A bit more plant, tree and crop food is a net good. Also the things the government pushes to save CO2 such as EVs, heat pumps, public transport, walking, wind, solar… save no or no significant CO2 anyway when properly accounted for. It also destroys both jobs and the economy. Plus damages our living standards and our defence resilience.
January 12, 2025
That climate changes is a fact, get used to something that has happened for millions of years. The sensible response would be to improve drainage, improve storage, improve distribution , and defend against sea ingress and erosion.
Politicians cannot think such thoughts because they largely involve civil engineering and spending wisely. For the cost of the absolute nonesense of HS2 the problems of controlling water could have been solved. No, politicians run around in circles arguing whether the solution is privatisation or nationalisation, neither of which as adjectives solve anything. Knowing what needs to be done, civil engineering, competent financial control, and professional management solve such problems: the antithesis of the way politicians run things.
Privatisation and Nationalisation are not of themselves good or bad. It is the way in which they run themselves, their rules of engagement, financial control, and quality of management that decide whether they work or not. Incompetent politicians running in circles, spouting their mantras, ensure neither work for the public good, in situations where government both political and civil service are involved. It goes well beyond the problems of water. I ask you SJR to stand up and tell us of anything that government has a hand in that is working well for the public good. The universal constipation is politicians of low grade talent, because any motor mouth can become one. I accept that some become politicians following success in life and a desire to repay society, but they are sadly in a minority whether left or right.
January 12, 2025
The Regulator never told them to expand capacity because it was EU and UK Government policy NOT to expand capacity (ie build new reservoirs), as this article by the late Christopher Booker reported back in 2012.:
“Astonishingly, it now emerges, it has become quite deliberate government policy to keep Britain short of water. And the explanation for this baffling volte-face lies in a “Communication” issued in 2007 by the European Commission (COM (2007) 414 Final) “addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9261122/Keeping-the-country-short-of-water-is-now-government-and-EU-policy.html
This, of course, is why we have so many unaccountable Regulators: so that they could enforce EU Regulations and the Government-of-the-day could deny responsibility.
At the same time as increasing the population by approx 10 million people, the Westminster Uni-Party was DELIBERATELY creating water shortages.
January 12, 2025
No new reservoirs in Berkshire for several decades, but a massive increase in population here, as you say Sir John. This is a huge issue, as the Westminster politicians are continuing to impose inflated housing targets on local councils, now higher than ever. What could local MPs do about this? If nothing, doesn’t this call into question what MPs are for?
January 12, 2025
The EA is positively anti-dredging in the name of nature diversity as evidence by its policy towards the Somerset Levels. A well maintained ditch or dyke allows water to flow freely. A poorly maintained one merely slows the flow causing water to overspill into the surrounding area.
January 12, 2025
When I was an Independent Borough Councillor my team took on clearing drains which had not been looked at for over 2 years. This service should be way up the list of jobs to be done by councils but seems to have fallen by the wayside because people are not aware of what causes flooding to homes. When I was young roads curved off into the gutter so that rain ran off the road into the drains. Building on flood plains has also been a problem and will be an even greater problem with the Labour Government’s plans for developments. The main cause of problems in this country is, of course, over population and infrastructure to cope ignored by councils and developers. How many times I saw developers promise to put in this and that and then scarper when the houses were up and sold. One way they did this was to reduce numbers of houses being put up in phases which then did not require the GPs surgeries being put in as statutory numbers which required homes were not in that phase. Very clever and no one took this up which gives you worries about brown paper envelopes being handed out. We have a completely corrupted country which will be impossible to put back together, in my opinion.
January 12, 2025
If there were no longer any humans on these islands and the only continuing emissions of carbon dioxide were from non-human natural sources then that change would have had a negligible effect on the world climate and the frequency of extreme weather events. On the one hand we are told that this country is insignificant on the world stage, so much so that we will struggle to survive outside the European empire, but on the other hand the same people will kid us that we can have a globally important beneficial effect by decarbonising our small economy. However to give them proper credit of course our political leaders are sufficiently intelligent to understand that simple truth, and it makes no difference at all to their attitude. This is like a new religious belief and they are still committed to the lunacy of net zero emissions whatever the economic and political and social damage.
January 12, 2025
“Will not protect us from Floods and drought”. Indeed nor will the net zero deluded religiom protect us from the Gordon Brown through to Rachel Reeves financial disaster.
The Government’s 30-year borrowing costs hit their highest level since 1998. British debt costs are now 1.4 percentage points higher than those of Greece!
The East Coast flood of 1953 caused by a combination of wind, high spring tide, and low pressure caused the sea to flood land up to 5.6 metres (18 ft 4 in) above mean sea level. Nothing to do with CO2 at all and this rare combination of events will almost certainly happen again at some point. It killed over 2500 in the UK and Holland. When it does doubtless the BBC will go into overdrive on the need for net zero – which will of course do nothing to prevent such combinations of sun, moon, storm, wind direction and low atmospheric pressure.
January 12, 2025
The Environment Agency has actively discouraged dredging of water courses as it sees its role more as protecting the ‘natural’ environment rather than the ‘lived’ environment. For example, the Somerset Levels were subject to increased flooding because the man-made drainage system was not dredged. A farmer was prosecuted because he took it upon himself to clean up a river bank and improve the flow.
The National Trust is experimenting with blocking rivers and streams flooding fields.
January 12, 2025
Slightly on topic: JCB has secured type approval from 11 European countries (including the UK) for its hydrogen powered combustion engine. It can now be deployed in its construction equipment. The follows a ÂŁ200m R and D programme pushed forward by Lord Bamford and is, I think, a notable achievement. It is the first such engine to receive type approval for sale. Followers of Harry’s Garage on YouTube will be familiar with it as he has featured it a couple of times. Essentially it is a development based on JCB’s existing 4 cylinder diesel. In parallel JCB have developed system to provide on site refuelling.
Reply Yes, a much better answer than attempts at battery vehicles.m
January 12, 2025
All fair points Sir JR.
If we go back in time, rivers were allowed to run their natural course. Now so many barriers are installed that controlling the flow is a full time job.
Flood plains were there to flood when rainfall was high. Governments and local authorities thought it sensible to build in them !!!
Dredging was banned by the EU (on enviromental grounds ludicrously) leading to low flow in drainage channels. We’re out of the EU now, so get dredging.
Population explosion is of course the root cause of building in inappropriate areas and insufficient water when demand is high.
Succesive governments have failed to see the obvious problems. One wonders why or how !!