London Mayor Ken Livingstone submitted an appeal to the UK High Court against Thames Water Utilities' proposed desalination plant in Becton, in the east of the capital.
Livingstone is appealing last month's approval to build the facility, saying the government didn't give "proper consideration to the Mayor's case" and hasn't properly examined alternatives to the plant, the mayor's press office said in an e-mailed statement today.
"Thames Water should be fixing more leaks rather than finding expensive ways to spend Londoners' money on making fresh water," Livingstone said in the statement.
"Adding 200 million pounds to Londoners' water bills to spend on technology more appropriate for the desert is simply a disgrace. I cannot sit back and allow this to happen."
Source Reuters
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Friday, 24 August 2007
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
The Green Veneer
Environmental campaigners today attacked the government's decision to approve the development of the UK's biggest desalination plant as a backward step in the fight against climate change.
The £200m Thames Water plant at Beckton, east London, will employ an energy-intensive process pioneered in desert countries to convert sea water into drinking water at times of drought.
Planning permission for the plant has been granted by the communities department after a heated inquiry.
The scheme was approved only after Thames Water pledged to use renewable energy to power the plant and to operate it only during droughts or extended periods of low rainfall. It will run on biodiesel, despite growing concerns about the sustainability of biofuels.
The plant will be able to provide up to 140m litres of drinking water a day - enough for nearly 1 million people. It is expected to run for up to 40% of the time over the next 25 years.
Campaigners said approval for the scheme sent out the wrong signals, and said the plant would be unnecessary if Thames Water was better at managing its resources.
Rob Oates, the manager of the UK freshwater programme at the conservation organisation WWF, said:
"It is nonsense to imagine that London, or indeed anywhere in the UK, needs a desalination plant to supply its freshwater needs. This is the UK, not Yemen.
What we really need to do is reduce leakage, which still stands at 25%, introduce universal water metering to reduce demand, end over-abstraction from the UK's rivers and introduce more water-saving devices in homes and businesses.
At the moment, half of the drinking water supplied to homes is used for flushing toilets and washing dirty clothes, which is madness."
Mr Oates dismissed the proposed use of biofuels to power the plant as "an environmental red herring that does nothing more than put a green veneer over a fundamentally damaging project".
The London mayor, Ken Livingstone, opposed the plans during the inquiry. Today, his spokesman said the decision was "a step backwards in the battle against climate change".
The spokesman said the mayor would continue to press Thames Water "to ensure that the environmental impact of the plant is minimised".
Richard Aylard, the director of external affairs and sustainability at Thames Water, said:
"The desalination plant is a vital part of our plans to secure future water supplies to the capital. The plant is essential alongside our continuing progress in reducing leakage and proposals for a new reservoir in Oxfordshire.
It may seem hard to imagine now given the rainfall we've been experiencing, but without this plant there would have been a real risk that Londoners would be facing water shortages in future years."
Source Guardian
The £200m Thames Water plant at Beckton, east London, will employ an energy-intensive process pioneered in desert countries to convert sea water into drinking water at times of drought.
Planning permission for the plant has been granted by the communities department after a heated inquiry.
The scheme was approved only after Thames Water pledged to use renewable energy to power the plant and to operate it only during droughts or extended periods of low rainfall. It will run on biodiesel, despite growing concerns about the sustainability of biofuels.
The plant will be able to provide up to 140m litres of drinking water a day - enough for nearly 1 million people. It is expected to run for up to 40% of the time over the next 25 years.
Campaigners said approval for the scheme sent out the wrong signals, and said the plant would be unnecessary if Thames Water was better at managing its resources.
Rob Oates, the manager of the UK freshwater programme at the conservation organisation WWF, said:
"It is nonsense to imagine that London, or indeed anywhere in the UK, needs a desalination plant to supply its freshwater needs. This is the UK, not Yemen.
What we really need to do is reduce leakage, which still stands at 25%, introduce universal water metering to reduce demand, end over-abstraction from the UK's rivers and introduce more water-saving devices in homes and businesses.
At the moment, half of the drinking water supplied to homes is used for flushing toilets and washing dirty clothes, which is madness."
Mr Oates dismissed the proposed use of biofuels to power the plant as "an environmental red herring that does nothing more than put a green veneer over a fundamentally damaging project".
The London mayor, Ken Livingstone, opposed the plans during the inquiry. Today, his spokesman said the decision was "a step backwards in the battle against climate change".
The spokesman said the mayor would continue to press Thames Water "to ensure that the environmental impact of the plant is minimised".
Richard Aylard, the director of external affairs and sustainability at Thames Water, said:
"The desalination plant is a vital part of our plans to secure future water supplies to the capital. The plant is essential alongside our continuing progress in reducing leakage and proposals for a new reservoir in Oxfordshire.
It may seem hard to imagine now given the rainfall we've been experiencing, but without this plant there would have been a real risk that Londoners would be facing water shortages in future years."
Source Guardian
Environmental Issues
Stockton's water and sewer operations will return to public control, after the city council voted Tuesday to drop its appeal of a judge's ruling against its $600 million deal to privatize the system.
A San Joaquin County judge ruled in November that the city's 20-year privatization deal was illegal because it failed to conduct a required environmental review first.
Environmental and community groups had sued the city, claiming that the system's operator, OMI-Thames Water Stockton Inc., poorly maintained facilities that were causing sewage spills. The deal with OMI-Thames, a joint venture of American and British firms, was the largest water contract of its kind west of the Mississippi.
City leaders had vowed to fight Judge Elizabeth Humphreys' decision, saying the city was only required to review individual construction projects.
But the city council voted unanimously late Tuesday to withdraw the appeal and comply with the judge's order for the city to take over management of the utilities. Under a settlement with plaintiffs, Stockton would regain control in March 1, 2008.
Plaintiffs hailed the vote.
"We are delighted that the city has agreed that the people should have control over their water supply," Sylvia Kothe, chair of the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton, said in a statement.
Source Mercury News
A San Joaquin County judge ruled in November that the city's 20-year privatization deal was illegal because it failed to conduct a required environmental review first.
Environmental and community groups had sued the city, claiming that the system's operator, OMI-Thames Water Stockton Inc., poorly maintained facilities that were causing sewage spills. The deal with OMI-Thames, a joint venture of American and British firms, was the largest water contract of its kind west of the Mississippi.
City leaders had vowed to fight Judge Elizabeth Humphreys' decision, saying the city was only required to review individual construction projects.
But the city council voted unanimously late Tuesday to withdraw the appeal and comply with the judge's order for the city to take over management of the utilities. Under a settlement with plaintiffs, Stockton would regain control in March 1, 2008.
Plaintiffs hailed the vote.
"We are delighted that the city has agreed that the people should have control over their water supply," Sylvia Kothe, chair of the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Stockton, said in a statement.
Source Mercury News
Sunday, 22 April 2007
The Filth of Forth
The public has been warned to avoid contact with water in the Firth of Forth after a "major" spill of more than 100 million litres of sewage.
Pumping equipment at the Seafield Wastewater Treatment Plant in Leith failed at 1630 BST on Friday.
Thames Water, who run the plant, said 1,000 litres a second of partially diluted untreated sewage had been pumping into the Forth.
Source BBC
Pumping equipment at the Seafield Wastewater Treatment Plant in Leith failed at 1630 BST on Friday.
Thames Water, who run the plant, said 1,000 litres a second of partially diluted untreated sewage had been pumping into the Forth.
Source BBC
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