0:00

this is the the guardian

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today is

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officially in , draft for the isn't

0:14

just climate change

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if

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you listening to this in england,

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on tuesday, you might be hearing thunderstorms

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outside watching ,

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streak down the windows and

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thinking that's more like it the

0:37

kind of english weather where you

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behold on friday over half

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the country was officially classified

0:45

as in a drought a ,

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is declared in parts of the

0:49

southwest the southern southern

0:52

england area and east of england

0:54

a read sadly this week's thunderstorms

0:57

weren't undo the damage from months

0:59

of hot weather and very very little

1:01

very you can probably

1:03

guess that climate science has made these

1:06

kinds of drafts much more likely and

1:08

much more severe when they happen but

1:10

it isn't the only thing making england

1:12

so vulnerable to stream these

1:23

were that might be the beginning of a new

1:25

much drier country one

1:27

that needs to rethink it's entire

1:29

relationship with water from

1:33

the guardian on michael safi today

1:35

in focus, how to prepare

1:37

england from a graph

1:45

helena horse and you're an environment

1:48

reporter with the guardian and on friday the national

1:50

drought group declared a drought in eight areas

1:52

of england when we talk about a

1:54

droughts would we make what's

1:57

the threshold

1:58

the emperor actually one

1:59

the national household for edge out such as

2:02

a very very complex thing not

2:04

just about how much it rains is

2:06

also a bows or water supply and how

2:08

evil it's air and face the weather has enough

2:10

more sense and environment agency

2:13

takes all of these different things and does

2:15

that say of and decides whether it's gonna be helpful

2:17

of the country to announce a drought they

2:20

things like rain fall river flows

2:22

grounds was a levels reservoir levels and

2:24

soil moisture s as as well as the impacts

2:26

on public water supply and author

2:28

on foreigners and on the environment and

2:30

basically when all these different things kind of flash

2:32

read that as an editor

2:36

the things just flushing read in

2:38

the uk era we sing it elsewhere in the world

2:41

what we're seeing any case bad bets

2:43

it's actually less bad them or other countries

2:45

the say thing try

2:47

some that the maman madonna hundred smits

2:49

policies say thing no running water

2:52

in france and historic drought is taking

2:54

this whole

2:55

authorities have banned irrigation as some

2:58

crops in over half of the country's apartments

3:00

to conserve water the

3:03

whole smelly team in south west

3:05

desperate times call for desperate measures

3:08

many farmers are flouting the rules and

3:10

watering that quotes in spite of restrictions

3:13

germany had facing it's was

3:14

oh record here in berlin

3:17

several lakes have reached

3:19

a critical water level to the point

3:22

where even the river spree of his big

3:24

riveted is flowing through the

3:26

capital city is slowing

3:28

in the wrong guy wrexham at certain

3:30

parts flowing into these

3:33

lakes

3:34

they into a through that your as an all time

3:36

life of forty percent and still

3:38

continue to fool us a race of lumpur first

3:40

ascent a week post

3:43

plus starved of greenery

3:45

this is no desert the

3:48

fact a reservoir

3:49

run dry

3:51

so much so that it's uncovered a

3:53

medieval bridge that was lost

3:55

when the area was flooded

3:57

and to say that same wildfires another

3:59

person

3:59

the heating in california

4:01

driving through the heat and into the mountains

4:03

surrounding small to marry posts us

4:06

on the southwest corner of yosemite park

4:08

feels almost like entering

4:10

a different worlds the firefighters

4:12

we a company like in it often to with

4:14

lunar landscape

4:18

right okay and coming back to these

4:21

drought affected parts of england what's

4:23

actually going on in those areas where does it

4:25

look like on the ground

4:27

they obviously people are going to be walking past

4:29

a local river them phones and reza flaws

4:31

and the be dried up the name

4:33

is because we do have a secure water

4:35

supply at the moment the government's in very keen

4:37

to stress that we're not going to see it's hats

4:39

running mc at the moment by some most

4:42

of the country especially in the jaws areas are

4:44

going to end up having some kind of his part

4:46

by myself

4:47

right okay and what happens if the drought

4:50

lasts more than a few weeks

4:52

the haven't been

4:53

have we made a fool it's if we can

4:55

see the have dry weather's throughout the listen

4:57

this is when things start to get a bit sticky so

5:00

is this a cool farmers , the moment

5:02

because the space to be so it's really love

5:04

that crosses mean that them into the soil and

5:07

he needs assess the month of soil moisture

5:09

to do that and we don't currently have it

5:11

they need faking raise

5:13

a not heavy rain but consistent mildly

5:16

heavy rain for a couple of weeks

5:19

for the soil to begin with enough to grow everything

5:21

on that's not full cost at the moment so we

5:23

could be seeing price rises with the time of next

5:25

year's harvest the could also be

5:27

saying this year crops currently to be harvested

5:30

they all it's him a theism a got a sale

5:32

say i'm thus a half of of potato

5:34

crop could fall this year

5:36

when it comes to the impact of water

5:38

scarcity you case farmers

5:40

are like the canary in the coal mine on

5:42

when they are as worried as they are now it's

5:45

a signal that the whole country needs to be concerned

5:48

what my for the environment have babies i negatively

5:50

impacted by as well say people walking around

5:53

might have thought it was all to miss you have walking

5:55

around the country because trees assessing heat stress

5:57

and subpoena leave early but also

5:59

seeing river that low level of that we're having message

6:03

in the river mole a tributary of the thames

6:05

fish like pike and roots are having

6:07

to be caught and relocated normally

6:10

the environment agency would try to add oxygen

6:12

to the water but levels are now critically

6:15

low look at

6:17

the fish in this country a dying because

6:19

will focus in love with a t low in the rivers

6:22

okay those a very wide

6:24

ranging impacts i guess i should be surprised we are talking

6:26

about water but let me just focus

6:28

on one aspect of this which is a drinking

6:30

supplements just start with can

6:32

you explain we are would actually comes

6:34

from the puff the the waters hikes

6:36

to me running on with happen be

6:39

able to fill a glass

6:40

okay to oversee the starting point is that

6:42

it rains and the rain hits and glendale

6:45

the ak then it goes into

6:47

our rivers gazans were aquifers that gets

6:49

into our reservoirs and from that

6:51

we have we have of pipes which take

6:53

the was of from the water sources into

6:56

our homes and through our top

6:58

the in the uk and how much

7:00

water to people tend to use

7:02

we used quite a lot say leave more than most

7:04

of the airplane countries iran yes react

7:07

yeah say we even average about one hundred and fifty

7:09

litres a day and other european

7:11

countries tend to ease about one hundred and twenty me

7:13

to the days the were a little bit more than most

7:15

europeans

7:16

why is that why do people in the uk you

7:18

so much more water than others

7:20

not completely nine why could be a cultural

7:23

thing so we have quite long showers in this country

7:25

the average shower in this country that has and has

7:27

his seven and a half minutes and up

7:29

twenty five percent of all

7:31

water consumption during the day and

7:34

lots of those companies are saying that we should be reducing

7:36

our showers on average by one minute necessary

7:39

quite a lot of water

7:40

the know why people in the uk like to sell

7:42

for so long

7:43

i have no os nice been yeah

7:46

so does a good question maybe one for an article at some

7:48

point i'm another thing that that's

7:50

more serious is that we do have an aging

7:52

population lots of medical conditions

7:54

require lots of water to treat them for example

7:57

of dialysis and that could be

7:59

another reasons we need it for medical reasons

8:01

as well now know some way of a nation of garden

8:03

as i could imagine not some average

8:05

will she can be slight escaped by the fact that the

8:07

the much regarding say much

8:09

uk efficient about

8:11

the way that is water like that a lot of

8:14

what rains that ends up in those rivers and aquifers

8:16

actually make it to out at

8:18

the nazi with a very waist level

8:20

with our losses are on was appliances anyone

8:23

looking around at the moment might say it's a very

8:25

lucky and in was a companies

8:27

have not put their money and see updating

8:29

their pipes that means that about twenty five

8:32

percent of all the water they didn't is leaks

8:34

wow twenty five percent yes yes

8:36

it's it's really not very good i'm not very efficient

8:39

and the way the evil a syringe gen sys

8:41

i was talking to some foreigners this weekend's

8:43

i'm and we gray the most water hungry

8:46

plants in the joy of past the

8:48

country so epic the pay for example the

8:50

seventy percent water and

8:52

we go may have tasted anything they had

8:54

a dry as some of the country the

8:56

copper used to being a wet country we normally

8:58

get quite a lot of race we have or a pet

9:00

very much thought into water securities and

9:02

as the climate emergencies us to come upon us

9:05

that is making as like if it's sheath it

9:14

elena understand one

9:16

part of this problem which is exceptionally

9:18

hot dry summer we've had like parts

9:21

of southeast england have had less than ten percent

9:23

of the usual july rainfall bus

9:26

i wouldn't understand the other side of this

9:28

which is how we actually stole

9:30

the rain we get how we moved around

9:32

the parts of the country that are bit more parts

9:35

than others could we be doing all

9:37

that a little bit

9:39

yeah absolutely within have a lot set

9:41

sail see look at the rain the city sin

9:44

throughout the country is this summer

9:46

the north less that they have had about eighty percent

9:49

of their average rainfall and some weeks and

9:51

that seen okay but we're not able to

9:53

meet the water from that around the country to other

9:56

places or perhaps need it most that's a big issue

9:58

and that we don't have vegas the systems

10:00

are part of the issue isn't each part of

10:02

england the south by a difference was

10:04

a company has less isn't famous to enough thinking

10:07

bad really big issue is how he still was

10:09

there is just sad sites the last time he both

10:11

a significant reservoir this country as

10:13

the full of has has a sudden athens the last

10:15

time us reservoir in the south east of england or the nineteen

10:18

seventy six offer that they gums

10:20

route that the had that yes we don't bode enough

10:22

rises laws are population has expanded

10:24

a has expanded massively and is still

10:26

expanding yet we're not building near

10:28

as as was to hold water and and not

10:30

close a huge issue because of running out of water over

10:33

soon

10:34

helena we've known for years of the climate is getting

10:36

hotter and drier subsumed why why

10:38

haven't we built more reservoir as why haven't

10:40

we made the system more resilient when

10:43

we know what's coming down the line

10:45

investing in infrastructure costs money could

10:47

are so many questions about why we haven't done

10:49

many things to mitigate the se

10:51

that the climate crisis apply an emergency

10:53

and hence this is just one part of it i

10:55

think that said people are quite short sadness

10:57

in their thinking especially if the mission isn't

11:00

that the climate crisis is their business to in

11:02

i am miss their shareholders sites building

11:04

a massive reservoir the costs of millions is

11:06

not going to be decisive or less the less know it

11:08

is updating your victorian pipes

11:10

which is still leaking water

11:12

for my bro twenty twenty demands

11:15

twenty twenty one was companies

11:17

last two point three million liters

11:20

of water the leaks everyday

11:23

for nearly three percent rise on

11:25

the previous year

11:27

and the longer you spend it as investing

11:29

in something the most sense that becomes the leak

11:31

become was to fight for some freak yes

11:33

and even more maintenance as it sank answers

11:36

on the whiteboard reservoirs and more die

11:38

the situation as and again the more

11:40

sensitive says kind of a vicious cycle i think

11:44

anything that part of a problem he was was shareholders

11:46

there there are say holders in the water

11:49

we wouldn't be any countries in the world that has

11:51

privatized was essay even america

11:53

doesn't that other country that does is chile

11:56

what does that mean in practice

11:58

what it means in practice

11:59

that's the companies have reduced

12:02

that a benefit of the people who have shares

12:04

in them of people he run them through the

12:07

idea was that the private was private company could

12:09

make could make a non profit would

12:11

go back into the infrastructure more as

12:13

was of the bells it wouldn't beat us up for the government anymore

12:15

and be more money rushing and and

12:18

basically that the proper the be fixed that

12:20

isn't that what happens because there are people

12:22

who are involved in the movie industry has made

12:25

millions and millions of pounds and profit

12:27

that some very rich of the back of

12:29

our utilities i mean think about how much

12:31

water bills are answers that money go back

12:33

in he fixing the plight of

12:35

course it doesn't last chance of that money's going

12:37

to go into sevens evidence one of the

12:39

see things i think a lot of people might agree

12:42

with not thing predicates is more

12:44

said the for the something that is so crucial

12:46

for lice and something that

12:48

needs a bit more accountability at least he can

12:50

say thousand governments that you don't

12:53

agree with hundred they need to that he said police

12:55

police you can switch to energy company them

12:57

for example be conflictual water

12:59

companies there's no competition the know no

13:01

way t say them that you're not satisfied

13:04

with the service

13:05

i'm pretty shocked by all of this especially

13:08

that england is one of the only countries

13:10

in the world that handles water that

13:12

way even after we've seen that doesn't

13:14

actually result in more and better

13:17

infrastructure it's just more profits

13:19

the shareholders among the public

13:22

is a much outcry over it people

13:24

saying hey we need more reservoirs

13:26

in our towns and cities

13:28

okay say to begin less there is

13:30

a small problem with some to me as he's not

13:32

all of them date once a has laws

13:35

infrastructure projects ned our homes

13:37

the concerns of a construction

13:39

phase of the damage

13:42

to the local environment

13:45

derek stock has been explaining why he

13:47

thinks building a reservoir on this field

13:49

this wrong is always been

13:52

always disaster for this area and environmental

13:54

in environmental in a it's a disaster for this area

13:57

code complete dissertation

14:00

well it takes ten years to build wants

14:02

constructed it will completely obliterate

14:04

the view of people in the houses

14:06

here under name nearby village

14:09

they some people have been fighting against the

14:11

very few infrastructure projects like read that was

14:13

the have been proposed as a village

14:15

in oxfordshire i believe that recently he fought

14:18

against having a reservoir in that area

14:20

and now they're facing was associates the

14:22

i do say that i think the tide

14:24

is turning i think people to realize that the proper that

14:26

now especially as i say angry about

14:28

being told the countless the car was that god

14:30

no filled up paddling pool well that

14:33

was a company is flushing away

14:35

a quarter of the was they get in leaks

14:38

so i do you think it's a mixture of mix of opinion

14:40

but certainly that i think there is a groundswell

14:42

of anger builds up against the water

14:44

company so that been day rights

14:46

guaranteed to school when i haven't had a shop has

14:48

been dreadful sixty

14:49

oh and not having

14:51

any was to drink plenty on the coast happens

14:53

if not you can instead of glass of water

14:55

see if you present

14:57

important motorists

14:59

we had enough or supply in the troughs

15:01

to keep us going for probably about

15:04

another twelve hours at most

15:15

helena this drought morning is extremely

15:18

serious in their forecasts it could last

15:20

as long as october what does

15:22

declaring a drought mean in practice

15:25

it's really to the label to the on and that

15:27

means that it's really more meetings about it between

15:29

stakeholders between at button groups

15:31

about has managed yes but in

15:33

practice it's pretty tasteless them

15:35

in the environment agency in general it's quiet cases

15:37

organizations sites it doesn't

15:40

really mean much but hopefully it means that people

15:42

start the bit more careful with how to use water

15:44

and hate fleet means that we have

15:46

actually at knowledge that we're having a serious issues

15:48

and perhaps we can take long

15:50

time accent and if we can't stop the shot

15:53

from happening right now that perhaps we can avoid

15:55

catastrophes seats years

15:58

and what can individual will do

16:00

to try to eighth the situation

16:02

their own pretty face as by saying that

16:04

this is a systemic issue that the climate crisis

16:06

and as badly managed water supplies and

16:08

it's absolutely not only one individuals to

16:10

act and the melissa completed my the quite

16:12

losses the any focused on bad saying

16:15

that i would say that he has a habit

16:17

of using very good quality tap water

16:19

to do things in might not necessarily need to talk

16:21

for a full says he weeks ago as

16:23

it's gotten as love monty done or the famous

16:25

gardner he was on and he was watering

16:28

has planted the water from washing up

16:29

now i'm watching a

16:32

bowl of washington gray

16:34

water and

16:35

he was saying that we didn't mean to use good quality top

16:37

with torso appliance obviously not plots

16:39

can't tell whether it's good cause

16:41

you're not because in

16:43

them very dry conditions we had you

16:45

need to use whatever water you can

16:48

another thing that we can do is of the things

16:50

that we will get to with like turning off the top

16:52

we brush our teeth having they shorter

16:54

showers as i said earlier and

16:56

yeah i think that basically that this

16:58

decide between good quality tap water

17:01

and and gray water said the was using your boss

17:03

was that easy to will shop that

17:05

can be dance anything it doesn't require thorns a kind

17:07

of can see miss i think that is pat forcing

17:09

your politics

17:11

can you prefaced all that by saying this is

17:13

actually a systemic issue so tell me about

17:15

some of those systemic thick since that the government

17:17

can put in place

17:19

we need family is that the from the government

17:21

and i want to security fee is something that they pretty

17:24

much ignored the be very disappointed by

17:26

the current leadership election about how

17:28

little have mentioned that raise essences of the

17:30

stairway lines i have read

17:31

the meeting

17:32

the government needs to invest a lot of money

17:34

and was a security the should be some government

17:37

felt with of lot of the water companies linked

17:40

the now for the need to be a that psni nature

17:42

based solutions celean actually a very

17:45

damp country anyone he seems her english

17:47

united how down to it can make the time

17:49

know that moments that actually we

17:51

have the fleet got the case it off

17:53

live in this country to make farming more viable

17:55

face a lot of areas that while wetlands

17:58

these have loads of massive that led

17:59

i have been drained the great crops

18:02

and the that she should be taken off

18:04

of say production or perhaps part

18:06

of them said agree with it because

18:08

it's the soil is holding moist

18:10

us farmers and has to irrigate of

18:12

much and that means we don't have to use

18:14

all of that was has a spray crops and with

18:16

you know is that was a com is in the sky a perfectly

18:18

good we that whole problem

18:21

something else that we'd have done is strengthened

18:23

our rivers and made the wetlands

18:25

around over this said when it rains the what

18:27

kind of sloshes straight sounds and

18:29

know aid us that cause flooding but it means that the list

18:32

just go swiss

18:32

yeah

18:34

we made of it is once again little

18:36

bit more wiggly actually ended up an

18:38

a on each side of the band to wetlands at the water

18:40

kind of state bass with hold water

18:43

better to take out laser and for the fish

18:45

and everything but also the land of be with us

18:47

so basically we have to figure out how to make our lands

18:49

lesser again

18:52

it sounds like what's required here

18:54

is a kind of mental shift for people to

18:56

realize that the england that they

18:58

grew up in and all the practices but it had

19:01

that's not the country anymore that over the next

19:03

few decades england is going to be a fundamentally

19:05

dry fundamentally country we need to make

19:08

that make that to shift and change

19:10

policies accordingly

19:12

exactly yes i think that

19:14

is very natural for us to have neglected

19:16

i was a security because we walk outside

19:19

most days it's raining and he thinks the

19:21

haven't the water shortage what's he talking about

19:23

and then i think that we are facing

19:26

a time now where our weather patterns are suddenly

19:28

changing we on t a couple of thunderstorms

19:31

but that's not going to fix the se so

19:33

yes again to have to act in many ways to

19:35

combat the problems we face because

19:37

of the changing weather patterns and i think that

19:39

taking watermill series the

19:50

coming up will summer droughts become

19:52

england's new normal

20:06

how regular of these

20:08

draft going to become the in the future

20:10

is is is something that we just have to get

20:12

used to

20:14

difficult to say because even scientists

20:17

have said that they were surprised by the ferocity

20:19

of of heatwave we just higher than the length of the job

20:21

were having basically least a half

20:23

these weather patterns that we take for granted

20:26

a happy with have a hot summer but i must

20:28

have a rainy winter and autumn and

20:30

everything i kind of balance out again say

20:33

what the government and i think a lot of the water

20:35

company that acting as if the in a normal weather

20:37

systems nowadays we don't

20:39

have that anymore so he can always bank

20:41

on having a really really wet winter

20:43

us to rebalance set because our weather

20:45

patterns of changed says i hard to predict

20:48

assassin they it has become more likely

20:51

if we don't make this dismantle shifted

20:53

his policy shift what could

20:55

england look like in the future

20:58

they could let likely run out of water

21:00

and london

21:01

shut down as the nice is

21:03

is that is that a realistic scenario seriously

21:05

that could happen yeah seriously that could

21:08

happen seriously we can be told not to

21:10

do things that used water obviously the

21:12

capital city is where the main kind of i'm heavy

21:14

water use it happens around the capital city

21:17

and the and the fast pace at which kind of

21:19

fool i think not the south place that would be towed

21:21

think like to walk or talk to severely

21:24

limit the amount of worst they use on

21:26

the could even be meters where water is shut off

21:29

i'm around the country i guess sounding

21:31

would sales we wouldn't stop being able to see

21:33

say to feed the country and have to rely on imports

21:36

the issue as other countries are also

21:38

facing similar problems i will that be enough seats

21:40

guy around i mean i think we'll do with

21:42

have enough seats guy randomness country for other

21:44

countries might say salmon and will definitely

21:47

say spiraling see it costs the

21:49

alchemy wildlife would be imperiled on

21:51

wildlife thirty had really type of time this

21:53

year heat stress that have been issued they run out

21:55

of water some fish species might go near

21:57

extinction

21:59

switch it will see basically just terrible

22:02

i think i don't have that the worst case scenario

22:04

said the climate crisis it's something that

22:06

could cause a civil unrest safe enough

22:09

people and especially if was

22:11

a company bosses continue to make millions

22:13

of pounds of people sea bass but they're not allowed

22:15

to use water apart from for a very essential

22:17

part of said i reckon that could even for civil

22:20

unrest

22:25

that was helena horse and thank you so much to her

22:27

you can read her coverage of england's drought and

22:29

its impact on water supplies at the guardian

22:31

dot com a spokesperson from

22:33

water uk, which represents the uk

22:36

water industry has said the recent analysis

22:38

by off, what a water regulator

22:40

on lake, it shows that after lot

22:42

of of hard work investment by is

22:45

is now sitting among the lowest levels since

22:56

the 1990s and puts england on

22:58

track to have by 2050 that

23:01

is it for today? to subside was produced

23:03

by ned cada miles and cleats see a sailor

23:06

with exact by just kelly sound

23:08

design is by rudy together the

23:10

executive producers or elizabeth cason infill

23:13

maynard were back tomorrow

23:18

this is the guardian