The News Review:

- UK’s Severn, Thames Rivers Rise Further Amid Floods (Update4)
- Ennis to get clean water supply by 2009
- 350,000 homes lose water supplies as flood misery grows
- SoCal Water Cutbacks Proposed as Part of Delta Solution
- How to cope without running water

UK’s Severn, Thames Rivers Rise Further Amid Floods (Update4)
Bloomberg – Jul 23, 2007
Residents of southwest England faced further misery as thefloodwaters disabled water treatment and electricity facilities,cutting off power and drinking water to thousands of people. In Tewkesbury, about 150,000 people were without watersupply after Mythe Water Treatment Works was affected byflooding, the Environment Agency said. Gloucester was alsoaffected by water cuts, and another 80,000 homes in Cheltenhammay be affected in the next day, taking the number of peoplewithout water to as many as 350,000, Severn Trent Plc spokesmanDoug Clarke said in a telephone interview. Bottled Water Severn Trent, the U. 's second-biggest water company, hasplaced about 250 temporary tankers, known as bowsers, aroundaffected areas to supply drinking water.

Ennis to get clean water supply by 2009
rte.ie – Jul 23, 2007
Clare County Council has signed an 8. 3m contract for a new water treatment plant for the town to be constructed at its reservoirs at Drumcliffe. However, it is not expected to be completed until February 2009. Advertisement The completion of the new plant will put an end to a number of intermittent boil notices, first introduced in May 2005, after the town’s water supply was contaminated with cryptosporidium.

350,000 homes lose water supplies as flood misery grows
Guardian Unlimited – Jul 23, 2007
There are high levels of water and there is more to come. We have by no means passed the peak. “More than 250 bowser tanks were dispensing water to homes cut off from mains supplies in the Gloucester area. Local supermarkets were giving out 150,000 litres of bottled water. Shona Arora, the director of Gloucestershire public health, said there was a small risk of infection from the floodwaters and advised parents to keep their children away. Water from bowsers should be boiled as a precaution, she said. Environment Agency spokesman Anthony Perry said: “We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before.

SoCal Water Cutbacks Proposed as Part of Delta Solution
Voice of San Diego – Jul 23, 2007
The state Department of Water Resources is proposing a year-long plan to reduce deliveries from the State Water Project, which sends Sierra Nevada snowmelt to San Diego. The snowmelt is a major source of San Diego’s water. The Metropolitan Water District, the wholesaler that delivers most of the region’s water, says the state plan could cut Sierra Nevada supplies by 40 percent in an average year of precipitation. That would cut the district’s overall supply by about 25 percent. A spokesman for the San Diego County Water Authority, MWD’s largest customer, declined comment, saying the authority was still evaluating the proposal’s impact…
The snowmelt is a major source of San Diego’s water. The Metropolitan Water District, the wholesaler that delivers most of the region’s water, says the state plan could cut Sierra Nevada supplies by 40 percent in an average year of precipitation. That would cut the district’s overall supply by about 25 percent. A spokesman for the San Diego County Water Authority, MWD’s largest customer, declined comment, saying the authority was still evaluating the proposal’s impact. The Los Angeles-based district says mandatory rationing is growing increasingly possible. Cutbacks “could get fairly significant,” said Roger Patterson, MWD’s assistant general manager. “We’re in a difficult time here.

How to cope without running water
BBC News – Jul 23, 2007
"They are frail, and they really are at risk at a time like this, and it would be a terrible shame is we saw elderly people dying during this crisis because neighbours had not rallied round. " According to Gloucestershire PCT, key facilities such as hospitals and health centres currently have access to water supplies, and talks are continuing with Severn Trent Water to ensure this continues. But the threat to the water supply is having a direct impact on treatment: radiotherapy sessions at the two main hospitals have been cancelled because of the large amount of water it takes to cool the equipment used. All non-urgent operations and out-patient visits have also been cancelled, and dialysis patients diverted to hospitals outside the affected area. Lack of water also means no supplies in the toilet. Flood water can be used to flush the toilet although you will need to wash your hands with clean water afterwards as there is a small risk of infection from contaminated water. However, the advice is: if you don’t really need to flush the loo, don’t.