Latest news with #waterSupply
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Water supply to 1,200 properties in Cuckfield affected by storm
Storms have affected water supplies to 1,200 properties in West Sussex, according to South East company said emergency repairs were needed at one of its treatment works, leaving people with low pressure or interrupted MacIntyre, incident manager for South East Water, apologised to customers in the Cuckfield said: "Storms affected one of our treatment works late [on Saturday] night, but I am pleased to say that our team of expert technicians has now completed the necessary repairs." He said reservoir storage was recovering and, once levels were back up, water would be pumped into the network to fully restore supply overnight."We understand that supply interruptions are frustrating and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding," Mr MacIntyre added.
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
'It stinks' - Weary Grey District locals gear up for another round in dump fight
Mayor Tania Gibson, with Adrian van Dorp, is worried about the district's water supply. Photo: LDR/Lois Williams The Grey District Council will need to spend at least $60,000 to make its case against the latest resource consent application by the Taylorville Resource Park . Mayor Tania Gibson says the council will not give up the fight against what it sees as a future threat to its $20-million water supply from the private landfill. TRP Ltd has applied to the Regional Council for consent to discharge contaminated water - a mix of stormwater and landfill leachate - from a retention pond to land, and groundwater outside the dump site. The discharge site sits above a water supply intake, which supplies drinking water to Greymouth. The application is being processed on a limited notification basis, and only the GDC, Te Runanga o NgatiWaewae and two neighbours of the landfill are considered affected parties with the right to formally oppose or support it. One of those neighbours is WCRC chair, Peter Haddock. "Tonkin and Taylor have given us an estimate for the work the council will have to do for our submission, and we'll need to present at the hearing , then our lawyers are involved, that's why we've said $60,000 and it could be more." That was a cost to the community that ratepayers could ill-afford, Gibson said. "No-one's coming to save us but ourselves. But it's just diabolical to have to fight this when we don't want them discharging to water and land above our water treatment plant. " The mayor met with Taylorville residents on Tuesday, to tell them what the council was planning to do, she said. "They are pretty devastated and upset. But we have to fight this with facts, not emotion. We are going to go in with as much specific technical information as we can and we will need to engage someone with that knowledge. " The GDC's independent water testing had shown contaminant levels rising in the road drains and groundwater near the dump, Gibson said. TRP Ltd is about to apply for a more comprehensive resource consent , for a Class 2 landfill, which would allow it to expand and take a wider range of waste materials as of right and has asked for that application to be publicly notified. It had applied for the current consent as an interim measure last September but the council was only now getting around to processing it, a company spokesperson said. For residents living near the dump, the prospect of fighting the major Class 2 consent is daunting. Adrian and Christine Van Dorp, who can see the operation from a bank on their lifestyle block, are considered affected parties. "We've been sent three hundred pages of stuff to wade through to make a submission and I can't see how we're going to stop this, but we can at least try to stop them expanding." The application states that any effects on groundwater will be less than minor and it would be impossible for contaminants to find their way into the Grey River. But the Van Dorps say it's beyond belief that the dump was ever consented in the first place. Adrian Van Dorp neighbours the Taylorville Resource Park, a private landfill, which has applied to the regional council for consent to discharge contaminated water. Photo: LDR When former Regional Council Andrew Robb subdivided his adjoining farmland five years ago, neighbours were given no warning that the land would become a landfill, Adrian Van Dorp said. The current Regional Council chair, Peter Haddock also owns undeveloped land next to the landfill and is considered an affected party. "We're all interested to see what he submits," Adrian Van Dorp said. "There are 28 of us living around here and the damn thing is a blight on the neighbourhood. It's affected property values and it literally stinks. "When the winds blowing one way we get it - and the smell makes you feel sick. When it blows the other way our neighbours across the terrace get it. " Haddock was asked for his views and told LDR the submission period on the short-term consent had been extended and he was considering the available information. The company in its application submits that any discharges would have less than minor effects on waterways. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Government fast-tracks new reservoirs to secure water supply
Two major new reservoir projects have been fast-tracked in a bid to shore up England's water supplies, the government has projects in East Anglia and south Lincolnshire have been declared "nationally significant", allowing them to speed through the planning overriding local objections can be unpopular and the reservoirs could still be more than a decade away from consumption of water may also need to fall to secure supplies amid rising temperatures and a growing population, scientists warn. The announcement means that final decisions about the Fens Reservoir in Cambridgeshire and the Lincolnshire Reservoir will be taken by Environment Secretary Steve Reed, rather than at a local change amounts to "slashing red tape to make the planning process faster" to "secure our water supply for future generations", according to Water Minister Emma two reservoirs are currently pencilled for completion in 2036 and 2040 "would provide more resilience to future droughts in a part of the country that is already dry and where there is high demand for water," said Dr Glenn Watts, water science director at the UK Centre for Ecology & can help protect against the impacts of drought by collecting excess rainfall during wet climate change likely to bring hotter, drier summers, the chances of drought could increase in the decades ahead, the Met Office says. These preparations have been brought into sharp focus by this year's exceptionally dry demand from new houses, data centres and other sectors could further squeeze supplies, but no major reservoirs have been completed in England since 1992, shortly after the water sector was year the government and water companies announced proposals to build nine new reservoirs by they have the potential to provide 670 million litres of extra water per day, they in addition to the Havant Thicket reservoir project in Hampshire, which is already under way and is expected to be completed by 2031. The government also says that it intends to pass legislation to automatically make the other seven proposed reservoirs "nationally significant" too."Reservoir projects are very complex infrastructure projects that are slow to take forward, and so anything that can be done to streamline that process can be a positive thing," said David Porter, senior vice president of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).The water industry has also welcomed the announcement."It's absolutely critical that we build these reservoirs now," David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK, told BBC News."If we don't build them now, we wait another 10 years, it's going to cost even more, so we can't keep kicking the can down the road any longer."But building reservoirs doesn't come cheaply, even with accelerated planning processes. That could ultimately filter down to people's does it come quickly. No new major reservoirs are due to be completed this experts warn that managing how we use water needs to take greater precedence in a warming climate."We need a complete overhaul of the way we use water, to plug leaks, cut down on waste and store water where it falls as rain," said Prof Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading."It would be better to make more difficult decisions around regulation of new building, as well as retrofitting older homes and businesses, to cut waste and recycle water where it is used, rather than pumping water across huge distances," she like any major project, the new reservoirs could prove unpopular with local communities, particularly those whose homes and farmland are cleared to make way for them."The decision by the government to fast-track through the 'national significant infrastructure' route is in my opinion very bad and will make the public very angry," argued Dr Kevin Grecksch of the University of David Porter of ICE stressed the need to take decisions "for the greater good"."Now, that's not to say that we should ride roughshod over the views of local people, and that's not to say that every project is justifiable," he said."But if the decision maker is satisfied that on balance it is the right thing to do, you need to find a way through the objection in order to deliver these projects."In response to the government's announcement, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins blamed Labour's farming and immigration policies for pressures on water supplies."The last Conservative government left behind a robust, coherent plan to safeguard food security and reduce net migration by more than half. Labour has chosen to abandon those plans and in doing so, it has surrendered control over both our rural community and our borders," she said. Additional reporting by Justin Rowlatt, Esme Stallard and Miho Tanaka Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK to Fast-Track First New Reservoirs as Water-Supply Risks Loom
The UK is fast-tracking the approval process for new reservoirs — the first in 30 years — as it seeks to secure water supplies for housing projects. The move means central government has taken control of the planning process from local authorities for two reservoirs in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Wednesday. The development is part of a broader plan to build nine new reservoirs to supply water to 1.5 million new homes in Britain by the end of the current parliament.
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Water supply resumes in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun after leaking pipe fixed
Water supply in Hong Kong's Tuen Mun has been gradually resumed after an underground pipe leak caused an overnight suspension and a temporary closure of some lanes on a major road. The Water Supplies Department said the emergency pipe repair works on Yuen Long-bound lanes on Tuen Mun Road near Siu Hong MTR station were completed at around 3am on Wednesday. It added that the supply to the northern part of Tuen Mun would be gradually resumed at around 6.30am. The slow and middle lanes on Tuen Mun Road were also reopened at around 6am, according to the department. Authorities say that repair works were completed at 3am on Wednesday. Photo: Handout The leakage first came to light on Monday night. Authorities later located the seepage under the slow lane of Tuen Mun Road, prompting road closure on Tuesday. The incident also led to a freshwater supply suspension in northern Tuen Mun at 11pm on Tuesday, affecting at least 23 residential estates and two hotels. The flushing water supply near Tuen Mun Ferry Pier had also been suspended. Services at three public hospitals in the area were not affected. The department sent water wagons and tanks to hospitals and relevant residential areas.
