The ACA Forum

Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Use the Search box to find your location or zoom on the map to see the locations of discharges from the sewerage network which are entering rivers. Avoid entering the water immediately downstream of these discharges, especially after it has been raining. Click the Legend and different symbol information buttons or click symbols on the map to popup information about the types of risks. Use the Layer List button to see other layers, including river flow direction so you can check whether the discharges are upstream of your location.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a6dd42e3bc264fc28134c64c00db4a5b&extent=-401307.0872%2C6628364.5565%2C-130261.3849%2C6788576.5678%2C102100

Many factors are not possible to show on a map. These include timings and locations of agricultural pollutions, discharges from badly connected household appliances and hidden septic tanks which are not in our datasets. This is why we can never be 100% sure that a location is safe for swimming or recreational access.

CORONA VIRUS UPDATE-

Regarding the Aune Conservation Association’s Tidal Road clean up on 26th April, I am planning to leave attendance up to individuals although Surfers Against Sewage have cancelled their related beach clean events on that day.  The situation is changing on a daily basis, of course, but I figure a dose of fresh air and modest exercise, whilst engaging in a community task at a sensible and manageable distance from others, might do more good than harm at the moment.  Obviously, there will be no pub gathering afterwards!

At a recent ‘Water Resilience Summit”, organised by the Westcountry Rivers Trust, there was concern expressed about the impact of climate change on the future availability of water for domestic use. Wildly fluctuating temperatures and rainfall patterns mean that water supply may become much more unpredictable and problematic. Water companies can control supplies through management of supply (quantity & quality) and delivery (improving infrastructure, reducing leaks, better treatment methods) but demand is largely in the hands of consumers. Changing demographics and socio-economic trends have meant that the national UK average for an individual’s daily water consumption is 140 litres/day (l/d). Denmark’s equivalent is only 88l/d. The UK target is 50 l/d!

What can you do to help meet this ambitious target to ensure that supplies do not run short? The answer’s are obvious: don’t use the bath or, alternatively, share the bath water with a friend; don’t flush the lavatory every time you use it – if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down; don’t run the tap when brushing your teeth; use a rain water butt to store water for the garden instead of using tap water; generally, be far more water conservation conscious and pass the message on to others.

By the use of relatively small measures, everybody can help to secure a water resilient future for our children and grandchildren.