Water UK

So, it’s started snowing again. I have always loved the snow. I love building snowmen with the kids and enjoying the winter wonderland. But think back to last year, when it snowed. It snowed a lot. The reality was that it caused disruptions and inconvenience as the country’s infrastructure struggled with the amount of snow, the depth of the cold snap and the sudden, rapid thaw. Water customers in Northern Ireland suffered periods without tap water as unlagged pipes in properties froze, thawed and burst while the water companies worked to identify and repair leaking mains in the street. However, the biggest challenge was that it snowed but it didn’t rain.

This time of year is the key period for water supplies – particularly those that depend on groundwater. The hydrological cycle is in credit now - as demand from plants is minimal - and water is available for recharging aquifers. With more and more pressure on the resources that are available, these recharge periods become increasingly critical to the maintenance of supplies to all of us throughout the year.

It's very difficult not to start humming "Fog on the Tyne, it's all mine, all mine" when there is actual fog on the actual Tyne, and you are admiring the view, whilst walking over a bridge on your way to an event on the Gateshead side of the river. I couldn't linger to finish the song, however; the final Rural Economy and Land Use conference was about to start.

Supporting a plethora of mosses on Exmoor, providing grouse with somewhere cool and boggy to live, or helping farmers use pesticides more efficiently and cost effectively - the water industry has a good story to tell when it comes to catchment management.

Pharmaceuticals are a feature of modern society. We take medication to treat day-to-day minor ailments and more severe conditions; some use substances for ‘recreational’ purposes; and livestock and domesticated animals are dosed routinely to prevent pests, maximise yields or increase productivity.

In February ground-breaking legislation was passed by Welsh Assembly Government that will require all new Welsh properties to have fire sprinklers installed. On the face of it, this is a life-saving initiative which will be welcomed by many and which is likely eventually to be followed in England. Indeed for water companies, fighting fires in their early stages through the activation of a sprinkler will reduce the demand on the network put on by fire tenders at the time of a more established incident and reduce the environmental impacts of wash water run-off. The difficulty arises with the details of providing and maintaining suitable water supplies.

There aren't many water company meetings where a central theme of the discussion is how much the attendees love, or indeed hate, cows. But then catchment management is relatively new on the business agenda.

There's nothing like rolling up your sleeves together to help you see the other person's point of view. Taking part in a panel discussion at a flood management conference this week showed me how true this is.