OUTRAGE AS HUGE DESALINATION PLANT IS SCHEDULED FOR EAST KENT COAST
Residents of a Kent seaside Town are outraged by a planning application by a local water company to build a desalination plant next to their sleepy seaside Town. One resident said "There was no indication that we would be sitting next door to an industrial site when we moved here just 3 months ago". Other residents were more sanguine about the prospect of a plant of this size on their doorstep, commenting "It stands to reason that if the population is increasing in this area, we would need more water to supply all households".
A Water company spokesperson said: "With continuing dry winters, coupled with the population explosion in this area of over fifty percent, we have no choice but to seriously consider a system whereby we convert sea water into potable drinking water for all of our customers". When pressed to respond to local Fishermen's claims that the building of the plant would decimate the local fishing industry through the discharge of brine back into the sea, no firm reassurances were given, except to say that "it was in the early stages of planning and feasibility studies would follow".
A spokesman from the District Council commented: "We understand the residents concerns, but we are acting on behalf of all Residents, all over the district, not just in one area". Asked how he felt about the rise in water charges to provide water from the plant, he commented, "It's out of our hands. Charges are set by the water company and I have no input into any of that". The spokesman was asked if OFWAT could influence the rate of charge per megalitre used by each household. He retorted, "Off Who"
The headline and text above is a spoof, but it really isn't far away from an event that could take place. Already proposals to build desalination plants have been mooted around Hampshire and Sussex by Southern Water. It is no exaggeration that if the population in our area is set to rise by over fifty percent due to the District Councils' plan to build a New Town and more, totalling over 26,000 new dwellings, coupled with residents in the South East having less rainfall per person than those in Istanbul, it's just a matter of time before such a plant is upon us.
In 2010, a Desalination plant was commissioned in Beckton, East London to serve London in times of drought. These units are power hungry and are generally frowned upon by respected environmentalist's. The byproduct of these units is salt, which is discharged back into the sea, causing a saline imbalance. Needless to say, it will be detrimental to the local marine environment.
So, if you're one of those Residents who think they won't be affected by an increase in the population because you live just 5 or 10 miles away from a New Town? Time to think again.
S&DRA.
:
