DIMINISHING WATER SUPPLIES
sut,--It is good, though disturbing, to read Sir Norman Bennett's protests against our reckless squandering of natural resources. His list is obviously not intended to be exhaustive, but it does unfortunately omit one which will become of ever more vital concern to the life of this country—our water supplies. Owing to the recent floods it is possible that catchment boards may be induced still further to belie their name by making yet more lavish provision to discharge flood-waters to the sea. This is already happening in this area, partly as a result of our floods last year.
There is no doubt that the underground water resources of this country are being steadily reduced, i.e. we are taking out more than we are allowing to sink in, and this at an ever increasing pace. Housing and tarmac, drainage, deeper boreholes for more abundant supplies and the activities of the catchment boards in cleaning out the upper watercourses—these are some of the agencies working to lower water- levels and subsoil supplies. There is only one result of such a policy, and desiccation tends to show its effects on vegetation and agriculture with unexpected suddenness and when remedial measures may be too late. Before it is too late the public should insist on adequate steps being taken to conserve our water supplies, and not let short-term policies cause irreversible and catastrophic changes to take place.—
Yours faithfully, W. N. LEEK. Dingle House, Winsford, Cheshire.
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