My Climate Change Garden

When it rains heavily in London, the Victorian drains often overflow and rivers of rain simply rush away.

The average Londoner uses nearly 160 litres of water a day – saving just 10 per cent of this total, through easy measures, would fill an incredible 48 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day.

With rising population, climate change and leaky Victorian pipes all putting pressure on our supply, the Mayor of London has plans to ensure our water resources for generations to come.The city will need to preserve its water  as climate change takes hold.Read how  London Mayor, Boris Johnson plans  to protect London’s water supplies:

The Mayor’s draft water strategy outlines the many challenges that London faces: its population is expected to rise from 7.56m to 9.11 million by 2031, we face hotter summers due to climate change and our Victorian sewers overflow due to heavy rain, sending sewage gushing into the Thames up to 60 times each year.

We have enough water for London, but only if we use it wisely and effectively. As our population grows we face a choice of either becoming more water efficient and making the water we have go further, or having to commit to expensive solutions, such as a new reservoir, to meet our increasing demand, with additional costs on our bills. There are easy steps households can take to become more water efficient.

Over a quarter of our carbon emissions from our homes come from water use and so not only do we need to save the supplies we have, but being more water efficient will help cut our contribution to climate change in the future. The Mayor will be working with key partners such as the Environment Agency and Thames Water to address these challenges.http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/rainwater-london-boris-johnson-plan.php