Is climate change and the resulting loss in biodiversity irreversible? Will our current efforts to slow climate change be enough or do we need to consider radical change in our water systems?
IES/FWR held this discussion meeting to explore whether abstracting water downstream of cities, treating it and pumping it upstream for human consumption might reverse the damage done to our rivers and natural environment. Traditionally we have abstracted upstream, where water is easier to treat and gravity can do the pumping for us. This seemed like the most sustainable solution, but our rivers are now struggling to cope with climate change and the increased demands of population growth. Given that we now have the technology to treat any water to potable standards and unlimited supplies of renewable energy, should we reverse this water cycle?
This event was held as part of a series of Water Climate Discussions, exploring the questions: is unacceptable climate change now inevitable? Do we need to consider radical change to avert disaster, or (possibly more radically) do we need to slow down and take the public with us?
