News1 min ago
Desalination
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I am no scientist and struggle to understand a lot of things so I hope somebody can explain in simple terms why we don't desalinate seawater for general use in the UK as they do in some Middle East countries.
Surely it would end water shortages
Surely it would end water shortages
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Because, like most things in this country which involve long term vision, successive governments simply kick the can down the road knowing that when the excrement finally does hit the air conditioning, they will have long since sailed off into the sunset and a happy retirement, giving after-dinner speeches which bring in far more than they ever earned in politics.
There is one desalination plant in East London, at Beckton. It cost £250m to build and as far as I know, apart from testing it when it was completed in 2010, it has never been used. It was not used during last summer’s dry spell as it was “undergoing essential maintenance work.” How something that had hardly been used had to undergo maintenance at the very time of year it was most likely to be required remains a mystery. Some critics suggest it is the cost of running it which means it is effectively mothballed for now. But I couldn’t possibly comment on that.
There is one desalination plant in East London, at Beckton. It cost £250m to build and as far as I know, apart from testing it when it was completed in 2010, it has never been used. It was not used during last summer’s dry spell as it was “undergoing essential maintenance work.” How something that had hardly been used had to undergo maintenance at the very time of year it was most likely to be required remains a mystery. Some critics suggest it is the cost of running it which means it is effectively mothballed for now. But I couldn’t possibly comment on that.
Of course it's worth noting that approximately a third of the water leaving Thames Water's treatment plants is lost to leaks and that, despite huge population growth, no new reservoirs have been built in the South East since the 1970s. There is one due to become operational in 2029, near Portsmouth but that will supply water for only around 150,000 people.
‘ We are so awash with energy here that we are forcing cars to use our excess electricity’
Eh?
You do realise that we import electricity from France at times, don’t you OG?
https:/ /www.na tionalg rid.com /uks-se cond-el ectrici ty-link -france -starts -flowin g-full- capacit y
Eh?
You do realise that we import electricity from France at times, don’t you OG?
https:/