Waterfall the CCW podcast. Hello and welcome to Waterfall. It's the Water Saving Podcast.
Karen, why should we say water? Because it's really important at all times that we are conscious
of how much water we use and we've got a responsibility to use it wisely. Well, we are
very excited today because we have got a guest and we've also got something new, haven't we?
Yes, we have. We've actually dispatched our roving reporter. Today we are talking about actually a
really, really serious topic and it's like it's come up in earlier episodes of Waterfall. That's
drought plans and droughts. So it's a really important topic and as Karen said, we have dispatched
Kath, who is apparently a roving reporter and she is going down to the southwest to talk to Lisa
Ghan, who works for South West Water. Let's find out more then from our roving reporter,
Kath, who has survived a trip to the southwest. What would you like Waterfall to cover next?
Send your water saving topics to
[email protected]. Hi Lisa, welcome to Waterfall. Thanks for
joining us today. Do you want to tell our listeners who you are? Hi Kathie, my name is Dr Lisa Ghan
and I am the Director of Regulatory Strategy and Asset Management here at South West Water.
Fantastic and today, Lisa, we're going to talk about a somewhat nebulous concept of drought
plans, which I think we've heard about in the recent climate, but perhaps we don't really all know
what they are, how they came into being and what we do with them. Okay, well let me start by talking
a little bit about I think about the system. So we're a climate-based system, which means that
we very much depend on rainfall. So we'll often hear there's other countries in the world that
don't have the rainfall we have and they don't need these drought plans. However, for us, we've
designed a system around rainfall because for centuries, you know, we've had this very predictable
and reliable source of water that looks good and tastes good to drink. So we've built a system
around that and of course when it doesn't rain in the way that we expect it to, that can cause
problems with the system and obviously with a bit of climate change, that's the challenge that we have.
So we have drought plans that help us understand what we do when we don't get the rain that we
expect to have typically. That makes sense, but as we're in Ireland, isn't there like enough water
even when it doesn't rain around us? We've got rivers, we've got coast, seawater.
Yeah, so we have a system where we have reservoirs. Now the aim of a reservoir is we don't get a lot
of rain in the summer and we might not get it where we need to catch it. So rain's got a fall
where you can catch it and in the summer that doesn't happen very much. It's really difficult
to predict where summer showers will be. In the winter, we tend to get the rain. So we catch it
in the winter and we store it so we can use it in the summer and we use it for two purposes.
So one of them is for public supplies and we'll drink it and the second one is to protect the
environment. So we will release from those reservoirs to support rivers so they are nice and healthy
all year round. So that's the two reasons that we have it. So you're absolutely right, there's water
in the sea, there's water in lakes and reservoirs and we need that water because we need to use that
to protect the environment as well as to protect customer supplies. So we don't ever want to get
to the point where those are looking quite low because that's not only risky for public supplies
but it's also going to be very damaging for the environment. So the aim of having a drought plan
is it allows us to understand at what point do we need to take action and even if it's just to
remind customers to be careful with the water we use. And if I might just add to that,
typically a customer needs about 150 litres of water a day because that's actually
quite a lot of water to stop and think about it. You know you're flushing the toilet, the washing
machine, the dishwasher, showers, baths, all of this use water and it all adds up to about 150 litres
a day and even if we just save a little bit of that that means there's more water for the environment
and there's more water for the future. So it's those small changes that you can make that can
actually really have an impact on your consumption and on the environment at the same time.
I genuinely don't think people really understand how much water they use. So we did some research
recently and most customers think they use less than 40 litres but actually it's 150 litres. So
every time you put the washing machine on you could be using 40 litres of water. Every time you
flush a toilet that can be up to 30 litres of water on these older systems. Six if you've got a newer
toilet every minute in the shower when you're heating water in the shower that's about 10 litres.
So it really all adds up. It really all adds up. If you use a dishwasher to wash your pots that will
typically use about 16 litres but if you do it by hand in the sink that will use about 30 litres.
So there are ways to actually save water which is you know use a dishwasher, take a shorter shower.
If you want to run a tap cold because you want a nice cold glass of water if you put a
jug in the fridge that will save six litres. So there's lots of little things that we can do to
save water which I don't actually think affect our lives in a material way and make a massive
difference to wildlife. As the drought plan looks at the environment how come is it yours the water
companies or is it the environment agency who owns it and makes the decisions? Well at the moment
decisions around drought measures are made by the water company we know. So we're obviously
at the moment we've had a drought this summer so one of the things that we did is we introduced a
hose pipe restriction for certain parts of the region and the reason for that is a hose pipe
uses a thousand litres an hour. I mean that's and that is you know just put that into context.
That's as much water typically as the family afford use for two days. So it is a huge amount
of water that we use. So what we found in the summer when it was incredibly hot we saw people
using hose pipes more and we asked people to not do that and that can save quite a bit of water.
Now that was a decision we made because the drought plan belongs to us so we developed the
drought plan but we do engage with all of our regulators and stakeholders and it's ultimately
signed off by government at the end of the day because this got to be robust. But the decision
is for water companies to develop that drought plan. It's for water companies then to track where
we are against that drought plan. So the drought plan tells us you know what that reservoir is looking
a bit low. At this point you should be telling customers about it or you should be thinking
about a hose pipe restriction. So that's what the drought plan is. It's almost a guide. Now what we
are happy to see is a reservoir that's a bit lower in the summer than it is in winter because in
summer you know it's drawing down. But in winter it should be filling up. So if you saw a reservoir
at say 50% that might be okay in summer but it might not be in winter. So the drought plan is a
guide to understanding whether we should be concerned about the level of water in a reservoir
or not. Which is what the drought plan does. It brings together decisions and the aim of doing
the drought plan is that you're doing it in advance of the drought rather than waiting to be in the
middle of it. When there can be quite a lot of media attention there can be quite a lot of
interest from the public and stakeholders. But it's a bit of a bible to follow and it helps you
navigate what you do in a drought when you'll have lots of competing views and some people will
want you to take action sooner. Yes. Some people want you to take action at all. So we take most
of our water in the southwest water region from rivers and reservoirs over 90%. Now other parts
of the country they're not as dependent on those surface water supplies. They can access ground
water. So if you've got, I mean we're on a bit of a rock of granite so it's really difficult for
us. But other parts of the region they can access what your listeners might think of as the water
table or those ground water supplies. They're a bit more predictable. They're a bit more stable.
So some of the other companies will be less dependent on the rainfall as we are here in southwest.
So it's actually the geography of where you are in across England and Wales is going to play a factor
in this. And again that law feed into those drought plans when people are taking it into consideration.
Exactly. And the thing what we'll do is we'll get to the end of this year and we'll reflect on
where the drought plan worked well, where it could be improved and we'll go through that cycle again
and make sure that it's ready for the next drought. And hopefully, you know, hopefully we'll have one
again for a long time. But the reality of it is with climate change, the frequency of the drought
of the summer that we've had, the hotness that we have this summer, the dryness, that is going to
increase. And I think I saw, but by 2050, we can expect the summers that we've had this year to
be like 50 per cent chance every year of getting a summer like this year. So that is if some of the
most severe projections around climate change come to fruition, we can expect that sort of level.
And we will have to adapt away from a system that is so reliant on rainwater, which is to your
point earlier, we are an island and we're surrounded by the sea and we'll have to think about that.
Think about how we actually think about using water that doesn't come from rainfall, but actually
just comes straight out of the sea. Yeah, and how we can clean that, get that into our systems and
ready for use. Indeed, because what I would say about water that falls from the sky is customers
generally like to taste a bit. It's not very hard and it's really enjoyable to taste. Now a lot of
people, if they get water from the ground, people complain that that's quite hard. Often they'll
might complain that's quite hard. And people will complain with water that come from the sea,
some desalinated water, that it doesn't taste great. Right. It tastes quite different. So we
might have to get used to the fact that it tastes a little bit different. It will always be really
clean and safe. Yeah. But it's people do have a preference for water that is soft and tastes nice.
So we would always have to think about that as well, because we want people to carry on enjoying
water. Fantastic. Lisa, thank you so much for talking to us today. We've covered a huge amount
of information there. Drought plans, the environment, saving money, through saving water and all the
benefits that that brings. Thanks so much, Cathy. It was great to see you again. You too. Thanks.
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Karen, we said at the top of the show that you really wanted to get out on a trip. Now...
I did indeed. I'm sorry. Are you cutting? I'm a little bit disappointed in a slightly bit jealous.
It was a lovely day. Sorry, Cathy. So you are our guru, Karen, on all things water-related.
So did you learn much anything from this interview? Because basically I was clueless at the start.
I know I feel slightly more clued up, so that's good. Well, I certainly felt that it was a really
good way of explaining how companies have to plan for all eventualities and also get the balance
right because they're constantly having to make sure that not only are they sufficiently providing
water for their customers, but leaving enough in the environment to protect it. So, you know,
it brought that home. We'll be back soon with more water-saving tips on waterfall. So it's
bye for me, Mike. Bye for me, Kath. And bye for me, Karen.
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