Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. Not just the odd shower, or a little drizzle, but an all day downpour.And that's not good news for London's elderly water management system that can cope with sewage or rain but not both.
There was rather an unpleasant to watch episode of the documentary series Panorama about it last week. It looked not just in London but across the UK, particularly how it effects the water on popular beaches. There is even a phrase for it - Combined Sewer Overflow or CSO. And in some beaches the wet summer the CSO was so bad that there was a 1 in 7 chance of getting a stomach upset by swimming after heavy rain.
In London there is a special boat called the Bubbler that goes out after a CSO and pumps oxygen into the Thames to counter the way the bugs eating sewage suck all the air out of the water, killing wildlife like fish.
So after yesterdays washout I've been wondering if it would be out on the river again, and yes it has. And what's more its just gone by at past 10 pm (see above) when no doubt the crew is on double pay overtime, so it must be a really bad CSO.
Which brings me to my problem: Thursday is evening paddling day so tomorrow am planning to be out on the water, water that is currently in the midst of a major sewage overflow problem.
Hmmm.......
