Water Supplies (Hansard, 17 November 1959)

§ 17. Mr. Chetwynd
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure a more rational distribution of water; and whether he will consider the establishment of a national water grid.

§ Mr. H. Brooke
It is generally best and cheapest to distribute water supplies 958 within the catchment area in which the sources lie. There are few areas where the supplies which could be obtained from full development of the sources do not amply exceed the foreseeable demand.
I am taking steps to get small water undertakings grouped into larger and stronger units, and to see that these have at their disposal the best possible information on which to base their plans.
For the consumer a national water grid would at best be an unnecessarily costly way of providing supplies. In particular, it would involve heavy expenditure on distribution, as, unlike gas and electricity, water does not flow uphill.

§ Mr. Chetwynd
In this twentieth century, has the right hon. Gentleman not heard of such things as pumps which make water go uphill if necessary? Is it not ridiculous that we can have one authority with ample supplies while a neighbouring authority in the next basin is facing drought? Is not something more urgent needed than the words of the Government today?

§ Mr. Brooke
What I am concerned with is that everybody shall have not only ample water but cheap water. If one has to pump water over considerable distances it adds greatly to the cost.

§ Mr. C. Hughes
Has not the recent drought emphasised the need for a national water plan, and is not the process of amalgamation going very slowly indeed? Will the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that he will, if necessary, invoke the powers he has under Section 9 of the Water Act, 1945?

§ Mr. Brooke
There is a further Question on the Paper today about water.

§ 24. Mr. Janner
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether, in view of the position which has arisen in Leicester and in many other parts of the country owing to the shortage of available water supplies, he will make a statement as to Her Majesty's Government's plans for preventing the recurrence of such difficulties in the future.

§ Mr. H. Brooke
This has been the driest summer for over 200 years. Nevertheless, four-fifths of all the water 959 undertakings in England and Wales came through the exceptional drought without having to impose restrictions on the use of water. I have made 51 local orders authorising temporary emergency arrangements under the Water Act, 1958, and other applications, including one from Leicester, are before me.
The position would have been much more difficult this summer but for the substantial capital expenditure on water schemes over the past few years. The 1958 Act also proved timely. The prime remedy for local water shortage is further capital expenditure, and it is and will continue to be the Government's policy to authorise this in the places where it is most needed.

§ Mr. Janner
Does not the Minister really think that he is misleading the House when he says that no provisions had to be made because people were short of water in various localities? Is it not a fact that in various localities provision had to be made because of the shortage? Were they not extensive provisions? Does the right hon. Gentleman not think, in view of the fact that this caused so much discomfort to people and cost a great deal, that he should reconsider his views on the national grid?

§ Mr. Brooke
No, Sir. A national grid would be an expensive way of supplying water. I said that one-fifth of all the water undertakings had to impose some kind of restriction. What we now need to do is to review all the lessons we have learned from this year's drought and make sure that future capital expenditure is laid out in the right places and in the best way. But one does not solve this very practical problem by talking in general terms about a national policy.