What of the Future? - Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems - page 294

reservoirs went down, leaving unsightly edges. But all of this was merely
inconvenient. Occasionally there were shocks, when violent rainstorms closed
major roads and flooded railways, and, as sea levels rose, chunks of soft coastline
were lost to the sea, taking with them isolated houses and hamlets.
But the first real awakening came when, not without precedent in the past two
centuries, even the strengthened sea defences of some 5km of coast were
undermined one night and the drained flood plain of the River Seventine was
reconverted to a large shallow lake for some 20 km inland. The flood plain had
been drained for so long that its soils had shrunk and oxidized and much of it was
2 or 3 m below the high tide level. This resulted in a vigorous debate as to whether
the defences should be reinstated at very high cost or whether the situation should
simply be accepted. The latter was the outcome simply owing to the time it took
to carry out inquiries and consultations, at the end of which the local communities
had adjusted to the situation, new coastal activities had been established and
further turmoil was unwelcome.
There were worries then that the system of ocean currents that brought warm
sub-tropical water northwards might change direction as the oceans warmed and
very cold water no longer moved down from the Arctic Ocean to force the
warmer water towards Europe. That might mean that the island became much
colder, rather than much warmer. Optimists thought the two trends might usefully
cancel each other out and this gave heart to the non-scientists in the government
that all might work out very nicely without too much diversion of attention from
the economy.
In the event, the island did see some substantial changes by the middle of the
21st century. The wetter winters meant that many rivers overtopped their
floodbanks every few years. More and more funds were invested in flood
protection, with the result that building, and other development, continued on
flood plains, so that the risks of damage remained much the same. Drier summers
resulted in shortages of drinking water and pressure to repair old leaking water
mains, hitherto losing nearly a third of the water they carried, on the one hand,
and in previously almost unheard of rationing in some areas on the other. The
sales of bottled water boomed. The heavy rains eroded much peat from the
uplands, staining the water and giving rise to much hand-wringing in government
conservation agencies about loss of carbon storage. Part of the problem, however,
was creation of bare erodible areas by burning to encourage heather ( Calluna
vulgaris ) to grow to feed grouse, which could, very profitably, be shot every
August and September. So the hands wrung but did not much turn to action.
Nitrate concentrations in the rivers had long been a problem and the rains
washed even more downstream boosted by the same pressures for increased
agriculture that were affecting other regions too. It was a little like the Second
World War when, in the interests of growing as much food as possible, every
possible patch of land was ploughed. This even included gardens that had
previously been the traditional lawn and flower beds. Individuals were much
more concerned about their situation than the government.
Other substances were increasing in concentration too. The westerly winds
had always brought in salt from spray drawn up into the atmosphere in ocean
storms. Indeed the higher mountain lakes on the harder rocks had long been a