§ Mr. David Penhaligon (Truro)I am sure that the Minister is more than aware of the anxiety in the south-west this year about water supplies. The same anxiety has been felt in previous years and no doubt will be in future years. However, I am equally sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome this opportunity to discuss the problem on the Floor of the House.
Those of us who live in the south-west find the position quite ludicrous. Our problem in 1984 is not unique, in that we had precisely the same one in 1976. Indeed, my part of Cornwall has hosepipe bans every year. It is rather like waiting for the cuckoo: everyone knows that it will come, but there is some doubt about precisely what the date will be.
Next week the South West water authority will meet to consider water rationing. Apparently there are two possibilities. Either it will be done on the basis of rota cuts for 17 hours a day, or standpipes will be erected.
We have had a dry spell, although we were told by the water authority as recently as March of this year that supplies in the reservoirs were satisfactory. Despite the dry spell, every river in the south-west is still pouring precious fresh water into the sea, the trees are a magnificent and buoyant green, and the grass where it has not been cut or chewed away by hungry animals is still green. By any international standard, applying the word "drought" to the situation is a ludicrous distortion, although it must be recognised that we have had a dry spell.
The Government's local representatives, the members of the South West water authority, have a problem on their hands. It is worth remembering that it is the Minister who appoints the chairman and members of the authority; it is the Minister and his Government who, despite considerable opposition, thrust through the House a regulation which means that all the meetings of the authority are now held in total secrecy; it is the Minister who fixes the external financing limit of the authority, which is the amount of money that it can borrow; it is the Minister who fixes the financial target, which is the profit that the authority must make against current costs; it is the Minister who fixes the performance target, which is the amount that the authority can spend on day-to-day operations; and it is the Minister who fixes the capital outturn.
In many ways, the only opportunity that we have these days for a public debate about the South West water authority is on the Floor of the House. In that connection, I express my warm thanks to the hon. Members for St. Ives (Mr. Harris), for Devon, North (Mr. Speller) and for Honiton (Sir P. Emery), who are present this morning to take part in the debate.
Numerous orders have been applied for. They take two forms. The first allows a water authority to extract more water from rivers. The second reduces the amount of compensation flows over reservoirs. By statute, when a dam is erected and a reservoir created, the water authority has to allow a certain amount of water to pass through the reservoir into the river even if there is little or no water coming in at the other end.
The authority has asked for dispensation to reduce compensatory flow rates, but the applications have been made at a rather late stage. It is amazing that there is a real 359 possibility of rationing being implemented before the full impact of the dispensation orders is felt in the region. I ask the Minister to give an assurance that the Department of the Environment will cause not one second of delay in implementing beyond that which is required by statute.
We all hope that rationing will not be necessary in the end. We hope either that there will be a couple of days of rain or that savings will be made by consumers. However, if rationing has to be introduced, how will it be implemented? We were told by the water authority in 1976 that in no circumstances could it introduce rota cuts. Standpipes were installed in parts of Devon but at a recent meeting of the region's Members no one could be found to defend standpipes. To my knowledge, no one is in favour of standpipes.
The proposed rota cuts will mean seven hours with water and 17 hours without. Of course, there will have to be exemptions. If the water supply is turned off for 17 hours, consumers who live at the bottom of a hill will take advantage of the fact that the water pipe is full and they will empty it. What sort of liquid will come from the pipe when the water supply is restored? How much water will be saved by the introduction of rota cuts? When the tap is turned on once more after 17 hours, something like brown sludge will pour from consumers' taps and our constituents will cause their taps to run until they can obtain some fresh water.
Perhaps the main advantage to be gained from cutting the water supply for 17 hours is that there will be no leaks in the supply system. If there is no pressure there will be no leaks. However, the more exemptions that are allowed the more the system has to be charged by pressure. Exemptions will not cause a lot of water to be used, but the leaks will continue merrily because pressure will have to be maintained. Water reserves will diminish irrespective of the amount of water that is used.
What exemptions should be introduced? I am sure it will be agreed universally that hospitals should be exempted from cuts. There are others who have claims of various merit. Hoteliers argue that they should be exempted on the ground of health risks within their premises. The owners of factories argue that water should continue to be supplied to their premises. There is a fish processing factory in my constituency and it will cease to function if there is no water. Farmers telephone me to tell me of the difficulties that they will face if water is not supplied to their farms. It may be possible to convince constituents that they should go without water for 17 hours, but the farmers in my constituency believe that their telepathic relations with their cattle will not enable them to explain adequately to them that there will be no water for 17 hours. What happens to kidney patients who are on dialysis machines?
I understand that the two areas most at risk are west Cornwall—Penwith, Carrick and Kerrier—and north Devon. I do not know how extensive is the area at risk in north Devon, but in the area as a whole there will be rota cuts for 300,000 consumers. I cannot help but reflect on the fact that since 1976 the water authority has decreased its staff dramatically, and many praise the authority for doing so. I do not believe that the authority has the manpower, if it ever did, to implement rota cuts with a satisfactoy exemption system. An exemption system can be operative in some districts only by turning off the water supply and individually to every property not given an exemption.
360 This is the last opportunity before October to question the Minister on this subject. What emergency staff can be provided? There is something to be said for the water authority seconding people from the district councils—at least the local authority employees will know the area. I do not wish to be overly dramatic, but I should like to know whether help will be made available from the services in this south-west if the system has to be implemented on a large scale. I have referred to the desperate position that exists this week relative to next week and to next month, and we need the Minister to give some information on the provisions.
The position in the long term is even more forlorn than in the short term, although that might sound ironic at this moment. About 30 per cent. of the water caught in the dams and sucked out of the rivers, old mine pits and mines, is wasted because it leaks away. That means that for every two reservoirs built to supply people another has to he built to satisfy the leaks from the system. That happens when water is being used normally. At the moment when people are economising—all credit to them for doing so—almost 50 per cent. of the water supply available to the people of the south-west is leaking away. That is ludicrous. I know of no one who would try to rationalise that position or argue that that is the best that can be done. The water authority must be provided with increased resources to get down in the near future to the business of repairing the system. As for financing locally, I am sure the Minister is aware that my region already has the highest water rates in the United Kingdom.
In my constituency—I do not believe that the circumstances there are unique—some of the restrictions imposed in the summer were made not because of the lack of water but because the poor community at the end of the pipe had insufficient water. It is a case not of the water authority having insufficient water in the reservoir but of the lack of a large enough engine or pump to ram sufficient water down the pipe to satisfy local demand. Therefore, the authorities try to restrict demand for water. That requires investment. There is only one answer to the problem—the provision of a new and extended pipe installation scheme.
The south-west is perhaps the fastest growing region in terms of population, and I suspect that that will continue. It is ironical that under the Water Act 1973 the local water authorities must be totally self-financing. No central help is available to them. I do not believe that the problem will ever be resolved if the Government stick rigidly to that provision. The reasons are obvious—we live in towns with populations of 5,000 to 30,000 which are 5 to 30 miles apart. No one could describe the south-west as flat. That means that there are considerable engineering problems to be faced when installing a satisfactory system. Without central assistance, there will be no end to the problem. Increasing water rates is a poor option, given that they are already high and, because there is no rebate scheme, those rates already impinge dramatically on a minority.
My last point is about Roadford, which has become the great discussion in the south-west. As I understand it, before the Government came to power, in December 1978 the inspector made a report to the then Minister saying that Roadford should have 8,000 million gallons. There was a change of Government. It took the present Secretary of State for Defence, a former hon. Member for Tavistock, who should have known better, two years to instruct the 361 South West water authority to consider another site at Higher Horslett. That came as a great shock to the water authority, partly because it had already considered and dismissed it. It took two years for the water authority to return with a report and an inquiry and say, "No, no Mr. Minister, it must be Roadford; 8,500 million gallons, please, pronto." It took the Minister another two years, that is four years so far, to say that that was not his proposal and that it was OK for Roadford, but for 5,000 million gallons. It took the hon. Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls) to discover that the Minister will consider the matter, and that sounds reasonable.
Leaving aside the merits of the argument whether Roadford should be 8,000 million or 5,000 million gallons, does the Minister have the power, without another public inquiry, to order that the reservoir should be much bigger? If he does, it is worth considering. If he does not, I hope that we shall not have another two-year delay to work out whether it should be a reservoir of 8,000 million or 5,000 million gallons. We need the reservoir to be built fairly quickly. I believe that the argument about the size is in danger of becoming a red herring. Time passes, and we do not have as much as we thought.
I have some bad news for the Minister. If he believes that stopping leaks, building reservoirs and modernising the pipe system is all that is required, I shall disappoint him, because the sewerage system is no better than the water system. The hon. Member for St. Ives made a speech about it last week. In some ways, the sewerage system could be alleged to be worse. In the south-west, we are plastered with embargoes and inadequate installations.
I know that the Government become worked up when this is suggested, but only investment in the infrastructure in the south-west will overcome the problem. The Government's view as expressed in a House of Lords Select Committee in 1982 was that, with one or two possible exceptions, the need for further resources seemed unlikely to arise until the next century. The Government considered that the water authorities were better equipped to respond to increases in demand than ever before. If that is the Government's view, they are wrong. I know of no one in the south-west, of whatever political colour—let us leave aside party politics—who would agree with that. The west country needs help now and it will need it for at least a decade. There are plenty of unemployed people who could do the work and there are plenty of skills available. The work cannot be financed solely by the people who live within the area of the South West water authority.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Harold Walker)Order. Three hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. Do the hon. Members for Honiton (Sir P. Emery), for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) and for Devon, North (Mr. Speller) have the consent of the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Penhaligon) and the Minister to take part in the debate?
§ The Minister for Housing and Construction (Mr. Ian Gow)Provided that they are brief.
§ Mr. Penhaligonindicated assent.
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerI was about to draw to the attention of the House the fact that the debate must conclude at 12 o'clock. I hope that the hon. Members will leave the Minister adequate time to reply.
§ Sir Peter Emery (Honiton)I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Penhaligon) and my hon. Friend the Minister for allowing me to speak. I shall be brief, as I have three quick points only. May it be pointed out that, when one is considering wastage, which is considerable, it is no greater in the south-west than in any other water authority area?
It should also be pointed out that the majority of the wastage is not controlled by the South West water authority; it is under the control of householders and industry. Will my hon. Friend appeal, even at this late stage, for people to look at leaky pipes, worn washers and dripping overflow pipes? That is often the great area of wastage and it is in the hands of individuals to do something about it.
I agree with the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Penhaligon) that the south-west needs some assistance from the Government. Much of the demand is seasonal. Water has to be supplied for use by people who are nothing to do with the south-west and who come into the area for their holidays. It is necessary to be able to cope with that demand.
Much of the delay in making adequate provision has not been the fault of Ministers; it has been due to pressure from environmentalists. They have much to answer for in regard to the delays in bringing new reservoirs into the south-west.
Perhaps the Minister will be able to deal with the question of standpipes versus rota cuts. Standpipes and the collecting of water by pails is an impossible situation for the elderly, the ill and the disabled. I accept that hospitals and vital needs should not be covered by rota cuts, but I believe that the majority of people in the south-west would rather have rota cuts for a longer period than the 17 hours suggested if they could be assured that standpipe operation would not be introduced. Even if rota cuts had to be for 24 hours on one particular day, they would rather have that than standpipes.
§ Mr. Tony Speller (Devon, North)I press the Minister to obtain a firm undertaking that in no circumstances will the financial limits of the South West water authority be restrained in the coming years while it is building Roadford.
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton (Sir P. Emery) that delays have been caused by environmental and conservation groups. But two district councils, the Country Landowners' Association and the National Farmers' Union and several other bodies were all involved in that respect. I can understand the difficulties of the Minister, who obviously wishes to be loved and to have a job, when all the bodies which are usually against each other were for some reason united against an affirmative decision on Roadford.
It is clear that if rationing comes we must first look after the elderly, the sick and the very young. We must also look after our local industries, or we shall turn off the bath water and lose the baby—industrial growth in our region.
363 As a householder, I am happy to say that at this moment it is raining in Instow in north Devon where I live. I can get by if I have a bath to fill with water during the day. I accept the hardships involved, because it is vital to look after our weaker brethren and to ensure that we do not destroy our industrial and commercial livelihood.
§ Mr. David Harris (St. Ives)In the past year, since I have been in the House, I have emphasised the importance of infrastructure. There must be proper provision for water and sewerage. In facing the difficulties created by the water shortage, we must not allow ourselves to say that there are no sewerage problems. That would be fatal. We must be prepared to spend what is required to provide a decent infrastructure to the south-west. I accept that that will mean cuts elsewhere. I suggest that the Minister could make cuts in the area of discretionary grants to industry. Sufficient funds must be made available to give the southwest the industry it requires. I assure the Minister that I shall not forget the subject once the rain starts.
§ The Minister for Housing and Construction (Mr. Ian Gow)The best news during the debate has come from my hon. Friend the Member for Devon, North (Mr. Speller), who told us that it was raining in his constituency.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Penhaligon) on selecting a most important subject, and I am grateful to him for allowing my three hon. Friends to take part in the debate.
The Government take immensely seriously the difficulties being faced by the constituents of the hon. Member for Truro, by the constituents of my three hon. Friends, and indeed, by all those who have been affected by the drought.
All applications made by authorities and water companies, whether from the south-west or from other parts of the country, will be considered by my Department with the utmost expedition. I shall deal with that specifically later in my speech.
At the outset, I appeal to everybody in the south-west of England, and in all other parts of the country where restrictions are in force, to comply most strictly with the statutory requirements, and to follow advice where advice has been given to customers by water authorities and water companies. Although the forecasting of the weather is an imprecise science, I have to say that the 30-day forecast issued yesterday by the Meteorological Office predicts below average rainfall in the south-west. To put that in context, normally Plymouth would have had nearly 13 in. of rain between 1 March and 31 July; Exeter would have had 10 in., Chivenor 11 in., Cambome 13 in. and St. Mawgan 13 in. Between 1 March and 31 July this year, Exeter has had just over 5 in., Plymouth just over 6.3 in., Chivenor 4.6 in., Camborne 7 in. and St. Mawgan 7 in.
Elsewhere on the western side of England, and in Wales, rainfall has been exceptionally low. At Haweswater there has been less rain in the past seven months than in any year since records began 91 years ago.
The South West water authority first imposed a hosepipe ban in north Devon and parts of Cornwall on 12 May. There is now an extension of the ban on hosepipes throughout the area of the authority. The first drought 364 order, to restrict river water running into the sea, was made on 21 June. We have now made 18 orders to conserve or augment water resources.
The authority has carried out emergency works to make water from Wimbleball available in parts of east Devon and in mid-Devon by using temporary pumping equipment. Work is about to start on a scheme to transfer water from the Exe to the Taw. Water is also to be transferred from the Tamar to the Tavey, using a pipe that was put in after the 1976 drought.
The South West water authority has taken every step to seek to persuade its customers to limit their consumption. It has distributed about 300,000 leaflets. It has used radio, through public service announcements, and by advertising. It has advertised on television and in newspapers, urging its consumers to halve their consumption.
I endorse the advice that was given by my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton (Sir P. Emery) that it is possible for—and, indeed, the duty of—all customers to examine their own pipes to see whether there are any visible leaks with which they can deal. I hope that people will respond positively to that appeal.
The measures taken by the water authority have had significant effect. Consumption earlier in the year was running at 10 per cent. above 1983 levels, but the people of Devon and Cornwall have responded to the authority's appeals to use water responsibly. In July, in the region as a whole, consumption was running at 12 per cent. below 1983 levels.
The hon. Member for Truro asked me about the new reservoir at Roadford. I was asked whether I would have any power to alter the permission which has already been granted. The hon. Member will remember that outline planning permission has been granted for a reservoir with a reliable yield not exceeding 87.3 megalitres per day. Work on that new reservoir is due to start next year.
When I go to the south-west tomorrow I shall be discussing with the chairman and other members of the board the timing of the commencement of work on the reservoir, which is of great importance. I think that the customers of the South West water authority will want work on the reservoir to start at the earliest possible moment. They will also want it to be completed at the earliest possible moment. I have, of course, no power to alter the planning permission which has already been granted. It would be open to the authority to seek to vary the permission which has been given, but I have no indication whatever that that is in the mind of the authority.
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State visited the south-west on Friday of last week. I shall be going to the south-west this evening and shall be spending the whole of tomorrow visiting the worst affected areas of the south-west. I shall be discussing with the chairman of the board the very points which have been raised in the debate.
I think that it was common ground among all those who addressed the House that there is a widespread preference among customers of the authority for rota cuts as against standpipes. That was made very clear during the debate.
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Truro for raising this important issue. I assure him and his constituents, as I assure all consumers of the authority in the south-west, that the Government will do their utmost to give all advice 365 and support to the authority, and will deal with the utmost expedition with all applications made to the Department for further orders under the Drought Act.