Patches of dry grass dot the otherwise idyllic countryside around this village of stone cottages and wildflowers -- hardly the calamitous picture meteorologists paint when warning of Britain's worst drought in 30 years.
WITHAM FRIARY, England — Patches of dry grass dot the otherwise idyllic countryside around this village of stone cottages and wildflowers -- hardly the calamitous picture meteorologists paint when warning of Britain's worst drought in 30 years.
But the warning has hit home for the Duke of Somerset.
As groundwater levels sink, he plans to end a 19th-century tradition of allowing villagers to use water from his spring-fed reservoir -- a move that will force 130 families to connect to a water main or another nearby spring.
"Over the past few years, we've watched as it's become drier and drier. The situation has just come to a head now," John Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, told The Associated Press.
Some villagers have sympathy for the duke. Others say his move harkens back to an age when nobles ruled the land.
"The situation feels terribly feudal," said David Heath, a Liberal Democrat lawmaker who lives in the village and has raised the issue in Parliament. "If it were hundreds of years ago, we would have been in revolt."
Britain has seen record low rainfalls the past two winters, depleting groundwater supplies in a nation already grappling with a dilapidated water infrastructure prone to leaks, much of which was built during Victorian times.
Witham Friary is a case in point. It consisted of a Carthusian monastery when it was founded in the 12th century. It had grown to only a few houses and pubs when the duke's ancestors started supplying water in the 19th century.
Since then, it has grown to a village of modern houses and holiday cottages housing about 130 families. In the last few years alone, more than two dozen buildings have gone up, and while there are fewer dairy farms, herd size has increased and demand for water has risen.
Many villagers are angry the money they paid the duke for water each year -- about $370 to $560 per customer -- wasn't invested in connecting to a water main or another spring.
The duke's family used to own the village and the surrounding property but sold off the land in the 1950s. While the estate continued to provide water from a spring in the pine-lined woods, poor rainfall and increased demand led to poor water quality and low pressure.
Villagers were recently served with notices from the duke's estate, saying the water supply would be terminated.
The clerk to Witham Friary's parish council, Deborah Liggatt, says a solution must be found. She doesn't blame the duke, and says dealing with one of the country's big water companies would be no different.
"People forget that when the system went into place they were lucky if they had one tap," Liggatt said. "Now, they have dishwashers and washing machines. We're all guilty."
With searing summer temperatures -- the hottest recorded in Britain in July -- levels at the duke's reservoir have continued to drop while villagers have taken drastic water-saving measures.
"Now, we turn off the taps when we brush our teeth. We put water in bowls to wash vegetables and then reuse it," said Elizabeth Kefford, 66, a longtime resident of Witham Friary.
A solution seems to be in sight for Witham Friary, with the duke and villagers meeting regularly to look at options and how costs can be shared. Britain's water shortage and future supplies remain unclear.
Britain saw its wettest May in nearly 30 years but much of the water was absorbed by the ground or evaporated in the heat. As a result, aquifers aren't being replenished and forecasters from the Meteorological Office say that by 2050 Britain will have a rainfall deficit of 10 percent to 15 percent.
At particular risk is southeast England, where 70 percent of the region's water comes from groundwater supplies, said Environment Minister Ian Pearson. Parts of the country receive less annual rainfall than sections of the Middle East.
Some 13 million people in southeast England already are subject to watering bans. The order extends to parts of London. Even Prime Minister Tony Blair's office has employed water-saving measures, including special machines to water the grass at No. 10 Downing St.
In Witham Friary, a solution will likely be reached by the end of the year by connecting either to a nearby spring or water main.
"I think that water will be as valuable as oil eventually," the duke said. "But for now, we have to do what we can to plan ahead and conserve for the future."
Source: Associated Press
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