§ 105. Sir W. Wakefieldasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs why it is expensive to extract water in the United Kingdom from underground; and whether he will encourage the use of wind-pumps, when the water is used locally, thus avoiding the cost of long distance distribution and wasteful evaporation when water is stored on the surface.
§ Mr. CorfieldI do not accept that extraction of water naturally available in underground strata is expensive by comparison with other means of providing public supplies. Reliance on wind-power is a doubtful expedient for fulfilling water undertakers' statutory obligation to maintain a constant supply at adequate pressures, and it would not, I am advised avoid the need for associated surface storage.