Drought and Water Supply

[MuswellMetro]

OK, i know those of you in the west have been wondering for most of the year about whether your Beehive will float but the east has been exceptionally dry all year, and Thames Water PLC have just started their desalination plant to produce water for London

I have moved some bees onto an orchard on gravel ridge in manly Chalk farm land, there will be no standing water nearby for 5 summer months of the year as an old garden pond (within 100yds) is being filled in,no swimming pools, no standing water in hedge drains etc, as it is so porous

The nearest all year round water source is an old gravel working pond about 800 yds a way, i think the bees will orientated to that source (as a feral colony by their flight path have)

would others on here provide a more local water source?, i really don't want to provide one unless necessary as it would involve carrying the water to the hive site from home and the only place i could provide one may be too close and spread disease

 

[itma]

... i really don't want to provide one unless necessary as it would involve carrying the water to the hive site from home and the only place i could provide one may be too close and spread disease

Spreading disease? What is the concern there?
I know bees don't often use water from close to their hive, but I have no idea why that might be.


Water carrying - depends how near you can get the car as to how hard it would be. Presumably you could fill jerrycans from a water tap at a petrol station on the way, so carrying them from home to car shouldn't be problematic.


Typically, the day concerns are officially raised about drought in the South-East, we have heavy rain and more forecast!

 

[Swarm]

I have a total of five different sources of water within a forty metre radius of my home apiary. I've yet to see any of my bees use them. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of them collecting water and the source is damp moss or dew.

 

[Poly Hive]

Getting water from a petrol station is not as simple as you may think as many no longer have outside taps. (Motor home experience says so.)

Half a mile for water does seem a bit far, as you sure there are no ditches or pools closer?

Broadening it more, I find it just astonishing we can pipe ashore oil from East of Shetland, but cannot organise a way of getting water from the wet West of Scotland to the drouthy South East of England. Bizarre.

PH

 

[Winker]

I find it just astonishing we can pipe ashore oil from East of Shetland, but cannot organise a way of getting water from the wet West of Scotland to the drouthy South East of England. Bizarre.

PH

They went one better, they just ran the water pipe into Perth, where they now bottle the water and sell it at a premium price and call it highland springs water.

 

[Swarm]

They can, they did it in Wales, never mind whether a village gets drowned in the process. As an island, desalination is surely the obvious answer since we are small and there are limited options. Unfortunately, resources are squandered on hair brained schemes and war mongering.

 

[Poggle]

Broadening it more, I find it just astonishing we can pipe ashore oil from East of Shetland, but cannot organise a way of getting water from the wet West of Scotland to the drouthy South East of England. Bizarre.

PH

Not really, it is down to pure and utter stupidity. "Scotland" was asked about doing just this a while ago. Scotland was up for as they were going to be paid. Engerland Govenrment types said "Oh GREAT!!! YOU put all the pipes and pumping stations in and we will have the water!!" Scotlands retort is lost in the annals of history. other than that, there are TRAINS that bring water down South to London AND fleets of lorries...........Maybe the wayer is being sold on the black market wonewhere..................

 

[Winker]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhW3qaCc7H4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhW3qaCc7H4[/ame]

 

[MuswellMetro]

Getting water from a petrol station is not as simple as you may think as many no longer have outside taps. (Motor home experience says so.)

Half a mile for water does seem a bit far, as you sure there are no ditches or pools closer?

PH

just looked at google earth it is 402yds rather than my estimate of 800yds, so a bit better

ditches: It is an orchard on a chalk slope of fields of ploughed out hedges, white chalk or gravel in the plough furrows and now planted with 300 acres of OSR, 50 acres field beans, wheat and later Maize or spring sown OSR. all the expected ditches and hedge mounds that exist around the orchard and woods are currently dry, I found one cart track puddle yesterday

it may just be the drought in the last year, i will just see what it is like, a feral colony has survives 10 years in a chimney so cannot be that bad, but there was a lined pond until this autumn but now filled in

could always buy the landowner a plastic paddling pool for the Kids

 

[Storm™]

Desalination - very very very expensive.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Desalination - very very very expensive.

I agree,powdered/dried water would be a better option.

 

[porterswoods]

I agree,powdered/dried water would be a better option.

or concentrated

 

[Norton]

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

(Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1797–1799)

 

[Black Comb]

Ref. national water grid
Friend of mine works in the water industry and I asked him this question some years back.
It's entirely doable, only thing is cost is likely to run into billions.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Desalination - very very very expensive.

I know, just got my Water Bill......£178 per Cubic Metre (that is including sewage disposal)

i hope it works very well as it is sited at Beckton on the Thames and is the sewage outfall for london......... ultimate recycling i suppose

 

[Andy Duff]

or concentrated

Don't be silly, carry a bag of ice as it is less dense than water

 

[victor meldrew]

Don't be silly, carry a bag of ice as it is less dense than water

and less dense than some on here!!
VM

 

[For want of a better word]

Don't be silly, carry a bag of ice as it is less dense than water

That would be cool!

 

[MuswellMetro]

Don't be silly, carry a bag of ice as it is less dense than water

Great, that has solved it , I will fill a balloon with steam, that's less dense than ice

 

[Storm™]

I agree,powdered/dried water would be a better option.

You would be able to get it in two flavours. Normal and Sparkling. mmmmm spacedust