By Sandra Leville : theguardian – excerpt
WATER IN ENGLAND: Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes
The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.
Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife.
The parts of England in extreme water stress with residents under hosepipe bans are also where the government’s “build, baby, build” agenda is being targeted. Labour has promised to build 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament – a strategy retained by Andy Burnham…
Harvey said: “The Labour government’s unrealistic imposed housing targets don’t take account of the fact that the Environment Agency, Natural England and the water companies are all waving red flags about whether the water exists to supply them.”… (more)
From Gray Brechin, “
WATER IN AMERICA: As you will see from the Guardian article below, Scott Wiener, the developers, and the YIMBYs who have gotten the California legislature to override local zoning controls and environmental constraints have their counterparts in the UK where massive new developments are projected for known floodplains and sensitive environmental sites. But now those counterparts are running headlong into the accelerating impacts of climate breakdown which is inescapable here where the heat is rising the rain has stopped, the hills and fields have bleached, the rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers are falling and the crops are failing. Although it’s still not as bad as France and Spain, wildfires have broken out in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. And El Niño hasn’t kicked in yet. But there are still people here as there are there who insist that if you build it, water (and energy) will magically be found. But what if it isn’t?