to not understand how you waste water

[moogster1a]

if you leave a tap on all day / flush the loo loads/ wash every item of clothing you own, the waste water goes down the pipes and basically to waste water treatment plants, cleaned up, and put back in the clean water system.
I see how this can be expensive, but the water isn't actually wasted, so why are we encouraged to use the same amount as if we were living on the skeleton coast of Namibia?

So you don't have a problem with all the energy and chemicals that get used in treating water? Not to mention that in times of drought any water that gets used is removed from the natural environment to the detriment of the natural enviroment.

I know an aquaduct or long distance pumping of water isn't unfeasible ragged - don't think I said that but it's the cost and environmental implications that will be the stumbling block.
And someone mentioned Scots thinking the English will be "stealing" our resources - well as long as the cost isn't borne by us then why should we not share our water? We export electricity down South so why not water?

ragged - we would not need a pipe from the Cairngorms.

Imagine a pipe just a few miles long over the watershed between each of the neighbouring water regions. Then the surplus in say Kielder Water in Northumberland could be pumped a few miles over the watershed into the Yorkshire Water area, then another pipe a few miles long at the other end of Yorkshire is used to pump the water over the watershed into Severn Trent and then a few miles of pipe over the watershed into Thames Water area in the Cotswolds.

Each water board is like a pool of water consisting of pipes that only really need short interconnecting pipes putting between them to allow water to flow around the whole system - working just like the electric system. Once the whole system is connected we can move surplus water from one place to another without a big pipe going all the way from the surplus regions to London

Captain Splosh should be about the right level to educate some of the posters on this thread ... www.captainsplosh.co.uk/main/splosh.htm, click on Main Menu at bottom left, then the little red circling arrows ...

Salmotrutta - I'm sorry and you're completely right. I guess it all depends on how its done. My previous experience of the Scots and English and natural resources is all from the hydrocarbon industry - and the I was left with a VERY strong impression that the general perception in Scotland was that the English had "stolen" all their oil... But that was a different resource at a different time, and hopefully everyone's learnt a bit since then :)

I don't waste water because I've got a water meter and have to pay for every drop that I use.