Today the blue skies have turned to grey and heat and
sunshine to cold and rain. One month we have the highest rainfall on record,
floods and many find the soil just too waterlogged and heavy to do anything. Then
a couple of months later we are basking in the heat and days go by without any
rain and we find the soil has baked hard and dry. Such is the allotment plot
holder’s lot.
If only we could have stored all that excess water into some
enormous water tank to see us through the dry period.
Some allotments have water troughs which work brilliantly when
they are next your plot but can be trying when they are expected to serve a
dozen or more plots. My daughter had a plot where the end of the plot was some
sixty feet away from the trough, but the other end of the plot was a further
long and especially gruelling hike in the heat of summer when carrying two cans.
Then when everyone was around and the water demand emptied the trough, a
further hike was needed to the next trough. I called the game ‘chasing the
water’ as all the troughs emptied in unison and queues formed to grab fresh
water as soon as it started to fill in the trough.
I am aware of several sites who are lucky enough to have
their own underground source via established wells or new bore holes. This is a
great way forward but is only available to the few.
At our site we have lots of mains-fed troughs and everyone
can take as little or as much as required. This however can have its own
problems. Some plot holders elect to use an old big paint bucket not a can. In
goes the bucket into the trough and like those large dredger buckets, water is instantly
scooped up. It’s hard to direct buckets and water is often poured indiscriminately
straight over the plot. For a brief moment the plot can resembles a paddy
field. No sooner has the soil absorbed one bucket than another lands.
At our site we ban the use of hose pipes and siphoning water.
We do have several additional mains taps available for washing, drinking or to
aid taking tablets. It’s interesting that these are rarely used for filling
cans as it take too long.
As a Society we all universally share the water bill, which
is also highlighted, along with insurance and sink fund within the annual rent.
Currently the water element is £10 per year. That equates to 12p a week, or 83p
a month, and may be regarded as cheap. We do not switch off the water at any
time during the winter or meter individual troughs.
But in today’s environmental climate we all must constantly
ask ourselves, are we doing enough? Do we, or should we incentivise plot
holders to do more to collect rainwater and reuse it and for others to use less
mains water?
The problem does not have a simple solution and sites will
vary by location, topography and structure, size and layout and diversity of
plot holders and habits.
It cost me over £50 to gutter my shed and install a water
butt. The shed is 7x5 and frankly it collects some water albeit slowly and can
soon be emptied just by the hungry greenhouse next door. Some sheds are larger
and will collect more and quicker, but do we want larger sheds at the expense
of land and as they are larger, they will also incur higher set up costs? Two
plots have water irrigation from their rainwater collections. One has built a
large loggia whose roof collects the rainwater and the other has a solar panelled
pump attached to their butt. However, can we, or should we permit loggia type
extensions to offset mains water and expect all to expend this amount of money?
After all some would argue these systems can take up growing space, are clearly
expensive and can only distribute what is collected and when empty need to be
topped up.
So how do we move forward responsibly? How do we exercise
some sort of collective responsibility?
When drought orders are imposed, allotments tend to be
excluded.
Should we ration water to all and how would this work?
Should we increase the revenue collected and offer cost incentives if water
usage drops? Should we look at opportunities to collect soakaway and is it even
practical? Should we insist that all new sheds, greenhouses, even polytunnels
collect rainwater in order to get approval?
Our redeveloped Trading shed collects rainwater and we have plans
now to collect rainwater and provide storage from our pavilion roof as part of
a disabled beds project. These commendable incentives only tackle a small part
of the overall issue and again only apply to ourselves.
Perhaps there should be a central sprinkler system which
comes on automatically and covers all plots as if they were agricultural land? Any
additional water needs would be down to the individual and yes, greenhouses and
polytunnels could collect their own rainwater.
Perhaps the issue is that mains water is too cheap and while
ever that remains the case, there is little incentive to seek alternative
solutions.
We all have different issues, opportunities and challenges
but perhaps it’s time to start a serious debate and a national, regional or
civic research programme and initiatives on water at the allotments…
