Water leak help

“Republic of Thirst” is a three-part series made possible by a generous fellowship from the Robert Novak Foundation. Part I of examined the debate over how California’s scarce water resources should be allocated. Part III will examine whether those resources can be expanded through technological innovations like desalination. Part II examines whether more can be done to store and manage the water that falls naturally on the Golden State.*** The water burst out through the spillway in a constant gush, a mad torrent of white, unstoppable and ferocious. It swept down the smooth concrete — then pounded into the new cracks in the failed spillway, sending a spray hundreds of feet into the air and carving a new chasm in the hillside. Alongside the ruined structure, new channels appeared in the earthen emergency overflow spillway, strewn with rip rack rock that had been dropped by helicopter to keep the hillside from collapsing, to save the cities downstream. … [Read more...] about Republic of Thirst, Part 2: The Sites Reservoir and the Future of Water Storage

News / UK and world by Press Association December 9, 2018, 9:18 am FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Hundreds of Thames Water staff are walking the streets at night, listening for leaks, as the utility giant battles to make repairs after a year of extreme weather wreaked havoc. Chief executive Steve Robertson told the Press Association the group is deploying teams of night-time leak detectors as part of efforts to avoid a repeat of this year’s supply woes that left nearly 75,000 people without water. It comes after the utility giant – which has 15 million customers – revealed in its recent half-year results that the Beast from the East and prolonged heatwave caused a surge in leaks and water supply outages. The group said up to 75,000 customers saw their supply hit during the freezing cold weather and subsequent thaw in March as pipes burst. Britain’s searing hot summer compounded woes, … [Read more...] about Thames Water deploys hundreds of night-time leak detectors to tackle repairs

News / UK and world by Press Association December 6, 2018, 8:06 am FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Thames Water has blamed the Beast from the East and the summer heatwave for a surge in water leaks and supply disruption as it reported a plunge in half-year profits. The water giant said around 75,000 customers saw their supply hit during the freezing cold weather in March as pipes burst, while the prolonged hot summer weather compounded woes. The group said the extreme weather had an “enduring” impact on its ability to meet leakage targets, while it revealed that the supply problems sent customer complaints soaring to 11,083 in the half-year to September 30, from 8,242 a year earlier. Interim pre-tax profits crashed 69% to £67.7 million from £218.5 million a year ago after it brought forward regulatory penalties. Thames Water was ordered to pay £55 million earlier this year as a penalty for … [Read more...] about Thames Water profits tumble after extreme weather supply disruption

News / UK and world by Press Association October 9, 2018, 12:03 am FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter MPs are calling for tougher targets for cutting water leaks, after figures showed a “shocking” three billion litres are lost each day. Water industry targets to reduce leakage by 15% by 2025 are “not ambitious enough”, said the House of Commons Environment Committee. Pressure on companies to act should be increased by bringing forward from 2050 to 2040 the goal of halving the amount of water lost, said the committee in a report. The report also backed new powers for water companies to introduce compulsory metering, even though it could lead to “significant” bill increases in some areas. The cross-party committee warned that drought summers like 2018 are likely to happen more often in future, increasing the need for resilience in the system. And it highlighted recent figures from industry body … [Read more...] about Call for tougher water leak targets with three billion litres lost every day