Good morning, if you are thinking of #wildswimming this weekend you might need to be a bit cautious about your #swimming

Despite being an island, the UK has fewer formally recognised bathing sites per capita than nearly any other #European country...

But, we also have the fifth highest number of sites rates as 'poor'.

As Tim Fallon (LibDems/Cumbria) puts it: 'the UK is officially the sick swimmer of Europe, with water companies allowed to get away with foul polluting habits'!

#watercrisis

Starker Report der NYT: America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow "Huge industrial farms and sprawling cities are draining aquifers that could take centuries or millenniums to replenish themselves if they recover at all." #watercrisis
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html

#Google “used an astronomical 5.6B gallons of water last year, a 20% increase over its 2021 usage.”* Google's “growing #ai efforts” is a big reason. “Training these algorithms in massive data centers consumes immense amounts of energy, plus huge amounts of water for cooling.”
#watercrisis #waterconservation

* Google’s 2023 Environmental Report

https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-water-ai

Two graphs about the #watercrisis tell you most of what you need to know....

If you were actually investing in #infrastructure you'd expect the water lost to leakage to steadily decline as repair & new pipes were deployed....

but there's been no real improvements... leaving the Q.

Where has all the money the water companies have borrowed gone?

#FeargalSharkey will have a pretty good idea where the money has gone (as do we all, to be fair)

First the good news on #water firms: in the wake of the #watercrisis, CEO's pay has dropped by around a quarter on average...

and now the bad news, the average water firm CEO still earns over £1mn a year...

Just so you know...

America Is Using Up Its #Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html

#Grundwasser #Wasserkrise #watercrisis #Klimakrise #Klimawandel #climatechange
@BlumeEvolution

Euphrates River’s water level hits historic low at Tabqa Dam, Syria https://buff.ly/3P054Es #WaterCrisis #Euphrates #TabqaDam #Syria

“The sheer sum of acute and chronic #water stress symptoms – which now affect large parts of the #Earth and the life of billions of people – leads us to the brink of a global #watercrisis”, says PIK researcher Dieter Gerten via @CNN on new World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas https://us.cnn.com/2023/08/16/world/water-stress-scarcity-climate-crisis-scn-intl/index.html

"Iraq is known for its high temperatures.

"But with the impacts of #ClimateChange becoming ever more pronounced, the summer heat in Iraq has become unbearable for many, and also threatens to make large areas of the country uninhabitable."

An Issue of Survival: #Heatwaves in #Iraq and dwindling #water supplies

https://www.newarab.com/podcast/issue-survival

#ExtremeHeat #ClimateCrisis #GlobalWarming #WaterCrisis

#Uruguay is experiencing an unprecedented #watercrisis as #drought threatens supplies of drinking #water for more than half of its 3.5 million people. The country’s #water utility, which is state-run, began mixing brackish #water from the #RiodelaPlata with remaining #freshwater supplies in an effort to avoid service cuts in #Montevideo and other nearby areas. This water has been deemed unfit for high-risk groups, such as pregnant women, to drink. Read more: https://www.isciences.com/blog/2023/07/26/south-america-deficits-continue-near-guianas-southern-cone

Groundwater depletion around the globe. Spikes indicate severe depletion. Mostly for agriculture and drinking water. Unsustainable. Even changing the Earth's tilt via sea level rise.

#WaterCrisis #Water #Extractivism #Degrowth

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468584422000290?via%3Dihub

"The recent rainfall added two meters to #AngatDam’s water level, said David. However, he said that Angat Dam needs to reach 208 meters to assure #MetroManila residents they will have enough water until next year." #WaterCrisis #Philippines #ElNiño

Recent #rainfall good for 5 to 7 days of Metro Manila water supply — DENR
https://www.rappler.com/nation/denr-official-says-recent-rainfall-good-days-water-supply-metro-manila-july-2023/

Heat in small Arkansas town
Dries up water supply fast
Too hot to bear thirst

#arkansas #heatwave #watercrisis #haiku #poetry

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/unrelenting-heat-small-arkansas-town-hasnt-clean-water-3-weeks-rcna94085

"#Maynilad’s announcement suspending the (water) supply cuts came after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (#MWSS) said the #RainDance” performed by some 16 members of the #DumagatRemontado community in the #Angat area appeared to have worked." #Philippines #WaterCrisis

Water supply cuts on hold; MWSS cites ‘rain dance’ | Inquirer News
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1802219/water-supply-cuts-on-hold-mwss-cites-rain-dance?utm_source=gallery&utm_medium=direct

"By Latin American standards, Uruguay is a high-income country and it has historically thought of itself as having abundant water resources. Those who warned of diminishing supplies were considered catastrophists and investment was postponed." #ClimateCrisis

#Drought leaves millions in #Uruguay without #TapWater fit for drinking | #WaterCrisis | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/15/drought-leaves-millions-in-uruguay-without-tap-water-fit-for-drinking

"#Isabela, #Philippines — Water levels at #MagatDam in Isabela province and #AngatDam in #Bulacan province continue to drop to almost their critical levels as the dry spell brought about by the #El Niño phenomenon persists."

On Wednesday, Magat Dam’s water level registered 162.89 meters, slightly above its 160-meter critical level and the lowest level recorded at the reservoir in this town this year." #WaterCrisis

Water levels in #Luzon dams keep dropping
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1800896/water-levels-in-luzon-dams-keep-dropping

Record flooding around the world.

Meanwhile -- plan to build a Google data centre in Uruguay, which is suffering its worst drought in 74 years, would use millions of litres of water daily.

“This is not drought, it’s pillage.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/11/uruguay-drought-water-google-data-center

#WaterCrisis #ClimateChange #Exploitation #Google #Uruguay

“Only a tiny proportion of #water in Uruguay is used for human consumption. The majority is used for big agro industries, such as #soya, #rice and #WoodPulping. Now we have Google planning to use enormous quantities of water.” - Daniel Peña, a researcher at the University of the Republic in Montevideo #WaterCrisis

‘It’s pillage’: thirsty Uruguayans blast #Google’s plan to exploit #WaterSupply | #Uruguay | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/11/uruguay-drought-water-google-data-center

"#Samui, famous for its white sandy #beaches, scenic #temples and luxury #resorts, often struggles with a lack of #FreshWater during the dry season between March and May. It’s feared the #ElNiño weather phenomenon, which is associated with less rain, will result in more severe shortages this year." #WaterCrisis #ClimateCrisis #TootSEA

Taps run dry on Thai island as tourism boom worsens #WaterShortage | #Thailand | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/03/taps-run-dry-on-thai-island-as-tourism-boom-worsens-water-shortage-koh-samui

No-one will be surprised that three quarters of #water companies have executives who previously worked for #OfWat... this sort of revolving door/co-option is pretty common in regulated industries.

It may or may not be the cause of #OfWat being asleep at the wheel, but clearly signals a worryingly close relationship between water from & their regulator.

The key reason to hire them is that they know how the system works & how to 'game' it... & the result is the #watercrisis & #sewage everywhere