英美要闻：英国的水资源可能在25年内耗尽, 英国人民慌了

England is set to run short of water within 25 years, the chief executive of the Environment Agency has warned.

英国环境署(Environment Agency)首席执行官警告称，英国将在25年内出现水资源短缺。

The country is facing the ‘‘jaws of death”, Sir James Bevan said, at the point where water demand from the country’s rising population surpasses the falling supply resulting from climate change.

詹姆斯•贝文爵士(Sir James Bevan)表示，该国正面临“死亡的威胁”，该国不断增长的人口对水的需求超过了气候变化导致不断下降的供应。

However, this could be avoided with ambitious action to cut people’s water use by a third and leakage from water company pipes by 50%, he says, along with big new reservoirs, more desalination plants and transfers of water across the country.

他说，如果采取积极的行动，将人们的用水量减少三分之一，将自来水公司管道的泄漏量减少50%，再加上新建大型水库、兴建更多的海水淡化厂，以及在全国范围内进行水资源转移，就可以避免这种情况的发生。

“We need water wastage to be as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby or throwing your plastic bags into the sea,” Bevan said.

贝文说:“我们需要让浪费水成为社会所不能接受的行为，就像向婴儿脸上喷烟或把塑料袋扔到海里一样。”

In the speech, Bevan says: “Water companies all identify the same thing as their biggest operatingrisk: climate change.” By 2040, more than half of our summers are expected to be hotter than the 2003 heatwave, he says, leading to more water shortages and potentially 50-80% less water in some rivers in the summer.

贝文在演讲中说:“水务公司都将气候变化视为最大的经营风险。他说，到2040年，预计我们一半以上的夏季将比2003年的热浪更热，这将导致更多的水资源短缺，一些河流夏季的水量可能会减少50-80%。

The population of the UK is expected to rise from 67 million to 75 million in 2050, increasing the demand for water. But Bevan says the average person’s daily water use of 140 litres could be cut to 100 litres in 20 years by more efficient use in homes and gardens. Currently, about a third of water is lost to leaks or wastage.

预计到2050年，英国人口将从6700万增加到7500万，这将增加对水的需求。但是贝文说，如果在家庭和花园中更有效地使用水资源，那么在20年内，人均每天140升的用水量可以减少到100升。目前，约三分之一的水因渗漏或浪费而流失。

The most controversial change needed to increase supply is building new mega-reservoirs, such as that proposed near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. “We have not built a new reservoir in the UK for decades, largely because clearing all the planning and legal hurdles necessary is so difficult and local opposition so fierce,” Bevan says. The government plans to streamline the planning process. “That will be controversial, but it’s the right thing to do,” says Bevan.

增加供应量最具争议的变化是建造新的大型水库，比如牛津郡阿宾登（Abingdon in Oxfordshire）附近的拟建水库。贝文表示:“几十年来，我们一直没有在英国新建一座水库，主要原因是清除所有必要的规划和法律障碍是太困难，而当地人的反对过于激烈。”政府计划精简规划程序。“这将引起争议,但这是正确的做法,”贝文说。

More water will also need to be transferred across the country to water-stressed areas, such as the south-east, Bevan says, via pipelines or canals. Just 4% of current supplies are transferred between individual water companies, but there are plans for 20 new transfer projects. More desalination plants, such as Thames Water’s Beckton plant, will also be needed to turn seawater into drinking water, he says.

贝文说，还需要通过管道或运河将更多的水输送到全国各地的缺水地区，比如东南部。目前只有4%的水供应在各个水务公司之间进行转移，但政府计划启动20个新的转移项目。他说，还需要更多的海水淡化厂，比如泰晤士水务公司的贝克顿厂，将海水转化为饮用水。

“While there will be political challenges, there should be less difficulty over the economics,” Bevan says. “That’s because the investment needed to increase our resilience is modest compared with the cost of not doing it. While a severe drought would cost each household more than £100, the cost per household of the investment that would greatly reduce the risk is only £4 a year.”

“虽然会有政策方面的挑战，但经济方面的困难应该会少一些，”贝文表示。“这是因为，与不这样做的成本相比，提高我们的适应力所需的投资是相对合理的。一场严重的干旱将使每个家庭损失100多英镑，而能大大降低这种风险所需的每户投资成本仅为每年4英镑。”

Water companies are required by the regulator Ofwat to cut leakage by 15% by 2020, although some have incurred huge fines in the past for failing to meet targets.

水务监管机构Ofwat要求水务公司到2020年将泄漏量减少15%，尽管已经有些公司因未能达到目标而被处以巨额罚款。

Michael Roberts, the chief executive of Water UK, which represents the water companies, said: “As well as planning increasing investment, water companies have publicly committed to cut leakage by 50% by 2050.”

代表水务公司的英国水务公司(Water UK)首席执行官海尔•罗伯茨(hael Roberts)表示:“除了计划增加投资外，水务公司还公开承诺，到2050年将减少50%的泄漏。”

“We’re also working with government and regulators to find ways to make it easier for people to reduce their daily water use, and if we all work together on this we can make sure the country continues to get the water it needs,” said Roberts. “A twin-track approach is the right way to go, reducing demand for water at the same time as increasing supply.”

罗伯茨说:“我们还在与政府和监管机构合作，设法让人们更容易地减少日常用水。如果我们在这方面共同努力，我们就能确保国家继续获得所需的水。”“双管齐下是正确的做法，减少对水的需求，同时增加供应。”

It is also vital that wildlife and natural habitats are protected from excessive water abstraction, said Tom Lancaster, at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which is part of the Blueprint for Water coalition of 18 NGOs.

英国皇家鸟类保护协会(RSPB)的汤姆·兰卡斯特说，保护野生动物和自然栖息地不受过度用水的影响也很重要。该协会是18个非政府组织水联盟蓝图的一部分。

“Government proposals to reform water abstraction and improve water management are necessary if we are to balance the needs of people and the natural environment,” he said. “This should start with government placing a duty on water companies to restore and enhance nature.”

他说:“如果我们要平衡人民和自然环境的需要，政府有必要提出的改革抽水方式和改善水资源管理的建议。这应该从政府要求水务公司承担改善自然环境的责任开始。”

今日词汇：

run short of 紧缺

chief executive 首席执行官（CEO: chief executive officer）

surpass /səˈpɑːs/ v. 超过

result from 由于

leakage /ˈliːkɪdʒ/ n. 泄漏

desalination /ˌdiːsælɪˈneɪʃən/ n. 减少盐分；脱盐作用

plant /plɑːnt/ n. 厂房

wastage /ˈweɪ.stɪdʒ/ n. 消耗量；损耗量

operation /ˌɒpərˈeɪʃən/ n. 操作；经营；手术

heatwave /ˈhiːtweɪv/ n. 热浪

mega /ˈmeɡə/ adj. 宏大的

streamline /ˈstriːmlaɪn/ v. 精简

hurdle /ˈhɜːdəl/ n. 障碍

water-stressed area 缺水地区

resilience /rɪˈzɪljəns/ n. 恢复力；弹力

incur /ɪnˈkɜː/ v. 招致

twin-track approach 双管齐下

abstraction /æbˈstrækʃən/ n. 抽象；提象