Professor John Robertson OBA
Thanks to Dorothy for alerting me to this.
For the second time this weekend, the Guardian has been reporting on apocalyptic water shortages, from Newcastle to Namibia, but never thinking to ask about the water supply only miles to the north, in Scotland. It reminds me of the Scottish media’s aversion to the word ‘England‘ when they’re discussing drug supplies in Scotland, from Dumfries to Stornoway.
From the Guardian today:
Water shortages could derail UK’s net zero plans, study finds – Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects
What might they be missing by not looking north? Apologies to regulars.
Before comparing with the world, how much more fresh water does Scotland have than in England?
Scotland’s Loch Ness alone contains 7,452 million cubic meters of water, which is more than the combined volume of all lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales.
https://www.environment.gov.scot/our-environment/water/scotland-s-freshwater/ https://www.nature.scot/landscapes-and-habitats/habitat-types/lochs-rivers-and-wetlands/freshwater-lochs
England and Wales, by contrast, have far fewer natural lakes, with reservoirs like Rutland Water (12.5 km²) and Kielder Reservoir being among the largest, but their total volume is significantly less than Scotland’s.
http://www.fao.org/3/T0798E16.htm
Scotland’s water reserves are estimated at 5,500,000 liters per person, compared to England’s 134,000 litres per person, highlighting a vast disparity due to Scotland’s smaller population (around 5.5 million) and abundant resources compared to England’s larger population (around 56 million). Scotland is often cited as having around 90% of the UK’s freshwater resources, largely due to its extensive loch system and higher rainfall (averaging 1,500–3,000 mm annually compared to England’s lower averages, particularly in the south). https://www.studycountry.com/wiki/does-scotland-have-more-fresh-water-than-england https://www.thenational.scot/news/19515230.big-corporations-could-make-scotlands-water-next-oil/
Globally?
According to the US Geological Study, there’s around 1 200 to 1 500 litres of drinkable accessible water per person globally: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-natural-water-there
Scots have around 3 666 times as much.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Westminster kleptocrats and their business cronies don’t believe in buying stuff. They just help themselves for free and charge us extra for their trouble (see electricity grids passim).
I recall a comment on a blog in 2014 from someone who met a high ranking Westminster civil servant on a walking holiday in the Highlands. He opined that Westminster would never allow Scottish independence because
1 oil
2 water.
There may have been other factors such as our huge maritime zone with security, fishing and drilling rights etc, parking of nuclear subs, burying of toxic waste etc etc …I forget. Sorry I don’t remember who posted that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The Guardian today, Sunday, has an article on water shortages.
As usual with Guardian the headline says UK but read the article and it is all about England. It is clear that the private water companies have made an unholy mess of water provision in England and climate change/Global warming is about to put the tin lid on it.
Worth a read
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/30/water-shortages-could-derail-uk-net-zero-plans-study-finds
LikeLiked by 5 people
that’s one of the reasons we won’t get independence – the English could become environmental refugees badly needing water – instead they’ll just take it – they were advised years ago to build desalination plant but never did – just take it from whoever has it
LikeLike
Thames Water, the biggest privatised water company in England and Wales started of debt free in 1989 like the fifteen others. It now has debt of nearly 20 billion. While it started with 37 reservoirs, asset stripping has reduced that to 12. You can hardly drink the water and daren’t swim in it, otherwise privatisation has been an outstanding success with water companies returning a total of £78 billion to shareholders. Chile is the only other country on the world to fully privatise water.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is from 2021.
https://genevasolutions.news/explorations/the-water-we-share/the-dangerous-game-of-trading-the-future-of-water
LikeLiked by 2 people
Useful
Thanks
John
LikeLike
So what happens to all that water when it’s -30 in Edinburgh in winter and over 40 in summer, and what were our traditional crops can no longer survive ?
We may not have the ‘apocalyptic’ high temperature problems portrayed by the Grauniad in the present, but perhaps we might consider the other effects of climate change, and what our kids and grandkids will face in a future Scotland ?
Here is a video from Dave Borlace on the “National Emergency Briefing” held on 27th November in London, with snippets from the panel of experts at that event, which best illustrate the points – Didn’t hear about it from our media ? – That is pretty much the point at the very end of the ca25 minute long video.
I’d suggest watching it then sharing it… widely,
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent video. Thanks for posting. I certainly will pass it on.
LikeLiked by 1 person