Henry Cator
We haven’t suffered an acute drought in England for many years. But, as we’ve seen recently in Cape Town, South Africa, a prolonged lack of water can cause immense pain for millions of people. I remember the hot summer of 1976, with its water tankers, standpipes and forest fires. When the next drought comes, are we prepared?
I fear not. One initiative we’ve taken at Water Resources East, which I chair, is to predict water availability over the next 60 years in the East of England.
It doesn’t paint a heartening picture. If we don’t change current habits, and the population continues to grow, then we face severe shortages even without the effects of climate change. Yet, convincing people to take action in 2019 for events that will happen in 2080 is difficult. They think: ‘It won’t impact me, so why worry? Or there’s nothing I can do about it anyway’.
On the contrary, there’s an awful lot we can all do about it today – and every day.
No time like the present
It starts with a change of attitude. I sincerely believe that if enough people demonstrate water saving is a priority, then the quantum leaps from science and technology will make it happen. Humans are extraordinarily ingenious and I’m entirely optimistic that we will find solutions.
As a farmer, I create a seedbed to encourage germination and provide the optimum environment to grow, flourish and produce a large yield. I think we have to do exactly the same with ideas for water.
The first step is to store surplus water in the winter. In England’s green and pleasant land, all our systems traditionally aim to evacuate water, flushing drinking water out to sea, rather than storing it for times of drought. In simple terms, we need more rain butts. One approach is to incentivise farmers to turn their land into reservoirs. They would stop growing crops and become farmers of water. At a stroke, more water would be available for other farmers, builders, manufacturers and householders.
Caring enough
This revolution will need to come from the social sciences as much as the environmental. How do you influence and change behaviour to make people more frugal with water?
The answer is incentives and education. Let’s ask farmers, housebuilders and householders: How much water do you need? What if we gave you half that? How would you manage?
Perhaps the farmer would replace a crop with a less thirsty one, the builder would only install greywater toilet systems, and the householder would shower instead of taking a bath. Great. We’re on our way.
This may sound fanciful, but I strongly believe that change can come if we all care enough to make it happen. This means becoming more community-spirited, where we’re more prepared to help each other unconditionally.
Big picture, not small minds. I don’t think there’s anything too terrible in that.