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Supply Welsh water to south east England, says GMB union


StephenA

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Having seen the Elan valley reservoirs practically empty (albeit in the mid '70s), I don't think the Welsh Assembly would be too keen to give any more water away.

Besides which, Birmingham might have something to say about it!

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Such a scheme would probably make those canals used unnavigable. Surely the cheapest way to solve the water supply problems of the South East is to move jobs, and those that do them, to wetter, less inhabited areas.

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Ha! That's nothing, When the smelly overbreathed air that emerges from the streets and tube finally runs out of oxygen I suppose they will want Welsh and Shropshire air pumped down a great big tunnel as well! Learn to live within your means. Grrr, featherbedded southerners.

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Threads like this always remind me of the time the Tartan Army blew up a pylon on the Scottish border to stop the thieving English stealing Scottish electricity.

 

Half of Dumfries and Galloway went out.  The electric was flowing the other way!

 

George

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1 hour ago, Pluto said:

Such a scheme would probably make those canals used unnavigable. Surely the cheapest way to solve the water supply problems of the South East is to move jobs, and those that do them, to wetter, less inhabited areas.

I think you will find that the Cotswold Canal Trust are actively supporting the movement of water in their canal 

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1 hour ago, Pluto said:

Such a scheme would probably make those canals used unnavigable. Surely the cheapest way to solve the water supply problems of the South East is to move jobs, and those that do them, to wetter, less inhabited areas.

Depends on how much water you want to pump through - the LLangollen carries quite a volume per day (12 million gallons) and that's narrow....

Edited by StephenA
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3 hours ago, Dyertribe said:

If, in the unlikely event of this idea coming to fruition, Welshmen (and women) everywhere will be mobilised to go to the Elan Valley and copiousLy iin the reservoirs!

 

CONVOY!!!!!!

people in Reading already do this for the Londoners 

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An awful lot of resentful nonsense about London usually comes up when any topic like this appears. I don't suppose for a minute that this fellow from the GMB, or the good folk of the Cotswold Canals, have any intention that London will steal water or that Wales will be giving it away, I'm sure that reasonable payment can be negotiated. London is short of various resources, but money is not one of them. The City and other activities generate fortunes for the Treasury, it should be able to find some down the back of the sofa when London needs a bit back. London gets water, another new underground line (you can never have too many we feel) or whatever, goes on making money for the Treasury, everyone's a winner.

 

Also, the idea that the scheme could leave Wales without enough water in a drought sounds like a politically motivated red herring. If the water's pumped from the Severn it's obvious nonsense, but let's assume the water really comes from a reservoir in Wales. Why not just limit the amount to be taken in the rare event that supplies in rainy Wales do run low? Even they can occasionally have a drought I suppose, but at least London can be receiving water the rest of the time, and we do have some big reservoirs off the Thames to store it in.

 

I'm not sure how far the engineers have got in designing this scheme, but a couple of points occur to me:

1. The water has to be pumped uphill from the Severn to the summit of the Cotswolds canal, so there is some energy cost there.

2. If it's extracted as far down the Severn as the map seems to show, isn't that tidal? Wouldn't it be partly seawater and useless for drinking?

 

Like the Grand Contour Canal, or most big civil engineering projects, this scheme is going to be regarded as a potential white elephant at first. Some are, some are not, and governments haven't been very good at picking the winners.

 

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2 minutes ago, Peter X said:

I'm not sure how far the engineers have got in designing this scheme, but a couple of points occur to me:

1. The water has to be pumped uphill from the Severn to the summit of the Cotswolds canal, so there is some energy cost there.

2. If it's extracted as far down the Severn as the map seems to show, isn't that tidal? Wouldn't it be partly seawater and useless for drinking?

 

 

Bristol gets water pumped from the G&S which is pumped out of the Severn at Gloucester.... so I assume part of the plan would be to increase extraction at Gloucester and pump it out at Saul.

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So London will pay for the water so that’s ok then?

 

If you knew the resentment and violence that ensued when these valleys were flooded, with whole villages being displaced to build the dams to provide water for Liverpool 

 

The top and bottom of it is, from the perspective of the Welsh, is that if England wants water let it flood its own valleys and displace its own people. These feelings run deep, and any Welsh Assembly Government agreeing to it had better have a plan B for their career. 

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/incredible-pictures-show-welsh-village-10284365

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14 minutes ago, Dyertribe said:

The top and bottom of it is, from the perspective of the Welsh, is that if England wants water let it flood its own valleys and displace its own people.

They already did.....

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1 hour ago, Dyertribe said:

So London will pay for the water so that’s ok then?

 

If you knew the resentment and violence that ensued when these valleys were flooded, with whole villages being displaced to build the dams to provide water for Liverpool 

 

The top and bottom of it is, from the perspective of the Welsh, is that if England wants water let it flood its own valleys and displace its own people. These feelings run deep, and any Welsh Assembly Government agreeing to it had better have a plan B for their career. 

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/incredible-pictures-show-welsh-village-10284365

As I lived in Caernarfon for several years, went to school there (think Caernarfon is a Welsh Nationalists hot spot), and have several nieces and nephews who's first language was Welsh and who still live there, there's a saying in that part of the world that 'Liverpool is the capital of Wales!' Many go to Liverpool hospitals, they follow Liverpool FC, a favourite dish in Caernarfon is Lobsouse! There's a saying that if all Welshmen left Liverpool there would be enough water for the Liverpuddlians - obviously I couldn't comment ?

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/st-davids-day-liverpools-welsh-8738182 

 

To me, I don't care, as long as we can help each other in the spirit of being in the United Kingdom. Apologies if this is contentious to some.

 

 

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12 hours ago, Dyertribe said:

So London will pay for the water so that’s ok then?

 

If you knew the resentment and violence that ensued when these valleys were flooded, with whole villages being displaced to build the dams to provide water for Liverpool 

 

The top and bottom of it is, from the perspective of the Welsh, is that if England wants water let it flood its own valleys and displace its own people. These feelings run deep, and any Welsh Assembly Government agreeing to it had better have a plan B for their career. 

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/incredible-pictures-show-welsh-village-10284365

Grafham Water, for industry in Luton.

I for one, was flooded out of my home for that one.

It was only after the drought of 76' that the local water supply was connected to Grafham for the "locals", before then it was a case of "Water, Water everywhere, not a drop to drink"

"For the National good" we were told.

 

Bod

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