When you see this photo, and hear this news, you might start to panic!
"Jersey Water has announced that it will soon be turning on the island's desalination plant, which is used to remove salt from sea water and turn it into drinking water."..........If we don't have rain, will the desalination plant give us as much water as we want/need......maybe this year we might get away with it, how about years when the summers get even drier.........it's time to build another reservoir with so many coming to live in the island, before it is too late."
But the news comes from a well known poster on Facebook who can be very wicked with his choice of photos and accompanying text. I will not name him, but I think many people will know whom I am referring too. Affable to chat to face to face, and I do like him, he becomes something of a demon on the keyboard in suggesting apocalyptic scenarios.
They say the camera never lies, but a photo out of time and place can do so.
The news is that after a dry autumn, and a dry reservoir, water supplies are down.
ITV noted:
"November has seen just 29mm of rainfall so far, compared to the average 106mm, meaning that reservoirs are now less than half full."
And the JEP reported:
"JERSEY Water is preparing to use the desalination plant for the first time in seven years after low summer and autumn rainfall left reservoirs at just 46 per cent capacity. This time last year the Island's reservoirs were 71 per cent full. The company said that long-term forecasts predict below-average rainfall until the end of January. It will be the first time since December 2011 that the plant will have been used out of necessity."
But the situation is not as dire as the photo suggests. It comes from a story entitled "Jersey reservoir will be emptied over the summer", which in fact dates back to 2011.
Back in 2011, when BBC News reported:
"Val de la Mare reservoir is going to be refurbished over the summer and the desalination plant will be put on standby by Jersey Water. The water company will be installing a water-tight "membrane" to prolong the life of the dam."
The news is that after a dry autumn, and a dry reservoir, water supplies are down.
ITV noted:
"November has seen just 29mm of rainfall so far, compared to the average 106mm, meaning that reservoirs are now less than half full."
And the JEP reported:
"JERSEY Water is preparing to use the desalination plant for the first time in seven years after low summer and autumn rainfall left reservoirs at just 46 per cent capacity. This time last year the Island's reservoirs were 71 per cent full. The company said that long-term forecasts predict below-average rainfall until the end of January. It will be the first time since December 2011 that the plant will have been used out of necessity."
But the situation is not as dire as the photo suggests. It comes from a story entitled "Jersey reservoir will be emptied over the summer", which in fact dates back to 2011.
Back in 2011, when BBC News reported:
"Val de la Mare reservoir is going to be refurbished over the summer and the desalination plant will be put on standby by Jersey Water. The water company will be installing a water-tight "membrane" to prolong the life of the dam."
The reservoir was emptied, and that is where that photo comes from.
I walked round in early November, about 2 weeks ago, and while the level is lower than I've seen it for some time, it is nowhere near as bad as the misplaced photo on Facebook suggests! My photo is below. I hope that while people use water wisely, they are not duped by a photo which actually comes from another story altogether, and is wholly misleading out of context. Jersey's example of "Fake News!
That's not to say the Islands' water supplies are unlimited, and they are certainly limited by population, but the debate is the poorer because of muddling it with photos used in this way.
[For an example of tides, and sewage from Guernsey coming to Jersey shores, another Fake News story, see http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2018/11/fake-news-jersey-example-2.html]
I walked round in early November, about 2 weeks ago, and while the level is lower than I've seen it for some time, it is nowhere near as bad as the misplaced photo on Facebook suggests! My photo is below. I hope that while people use water wisely, they are not duped by a photo which actually comes from another story altogether, and is wholly misleading out of context. Jersey's example of "Fake News!
That's not to say the Islands' water supplies are unlimited, and they are certainly limited by population, but the debate is the poorer because of muddling it with photos used in this way.
[For an example of tides, and sewage from Guernsey coming to Jersey shores, another Fake News story, see http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2018/11/fake-news-jersey-example-2.html]
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