http://uk.news.yahoo.com/third-dry-winter-may-see-standpipes-041800926.html
Goodness me, the times will change then if this happens! We take water so much for granted that it has just taken me a few minutes to fully think through all the implications of this. I think sales of water butts are already up but this may push them even higher.
As a governor, I am also thinking about 150 children with no flushing toilets!! I wonder what measures we will have to look at for the school...does anyone remember when it happened in the seventies?
A lot of us would do well to consider some of Frugal Queen's long term water saving methods.
It's life.
5 hours ago
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6 comments:
We were not allowed to have the children in school if there was no water for drinking or toilets. That was in 2005 [burst main,not drought] BUT the worst bit was that staff could only be paid if they stayed on the premises. The Head went and bought LOADS of bottled water from Tescos for making tea and flushing loos!
blessings x
Having thought more about this today, I reckon we would have to get in a load of Portaloos in the playground!! That is all I can think of, but at least in this scenario, I hope we would have some warning and could put plans in place. Perhaps we need a line in next year's budget for emergency sanitation!!
I was quite shocked when I read this today - if we have standpipes next year our politicians should hang their heads in shame - both current (who are doing nothing to remedy this situation) and former (who sold off our water companies to private corporations) and the owners of the water companies should too. This is 2012 not 1912 - I know there were standpipes in the seventies not from personal experience because I was in Australia at the time - speaking of which I don't recall Australia ever reverting to standpipes.
Never mind school - how do we do our washing? Shower? How will the elderly manage?
Lots of questions - wonder when we'll get any answers.
The ways of washing ourselves and our clothes without water from pipes in our houses are not that deep in the collective memory - many of our grandmothers would have done handwashing, boiled water in kettles and pans on the stove, etc. Washing ourselves - we just have to look to Frugal Queen and go back to strip washing from a bowl of hot water - start at the top and work down!!
The school concerns me more in that there are far more Health and Safety considerations when one is responsible for a large group of children and staff in this way. There are rules to abide by, and responsibilities to discharge.
Our elderly - the community and friends will have to rally round and support one another - I already know of two elderly people which our family will have to help in the village in this situation, carrying water for them and helping them with washing their clothes, for example.
Gosh what a thought provoking post - schools would be grim without water - I am thinking 1000+ teenagers and no flushing toilets, but also couldn't agree more with Jennifer and the politicians who should hang their heads in shame! xx
ps it's still raining in Suffolk
I am in the South East. As a governor, I had a letter last week saying that the hosepipe ban is voluntary for schools, so I am assuming that stand-pipes will similarly only apply to domestic properties. We have of course been thinking of ways to save water at school! There is no way you could run a school without water, and I can't imagine schools shutting for the duration. Parents get cross enough if we stop for snow!
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