Readers' letters - July 18

Shouldn't fracking be suspended too?
The dried-up bed of the United Utilities owned Wayoh Reservoir in Edgworth, BoltonThe dried-up bed of the United Utilities owned Wayoh Reservoir in Edgworth, Bolton
The dried-up bed of the United Utilities owned Wayoh Reservoir in Edgworth, Bolton

As United Utilities becomes the only water company in mainland UK to introduce a hosepipe ban during the longest heatwave in 42

years, I would like to know where the millions of litres

of water comes from that is used for (wasted on) fracking.

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If we are all restricted in our use of water or face a £1,000 fine, shouldn’t fracking in the Fylde area at least be suspended?

This really serves to highlight the fragility of our precious water supplies in the North West and the vulnerability of our groundwater reserves to contamination through fracking.

The River Wyre is already topped up by water from the Lune via a pipeline as the Wyre cannot sustain its normal non-drought water abstraction requirements.

The government tells us that the fracking industry must follow strict guidelines to prevent contamination – but so must United Utilities yet it didn’t stop water supplies to 700,000 people being contaminated throughout the summer of 2015.

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Imagine seeing images of empty reservoirs combined with unusable contaminated underground supplies. It wouldn’t just be gardens and car washing that would be restricted (for years not weeks) and Cuadrilla saying “oops, sorry about that” would hardly be adequate.

Fracking is abhorrent

on so many levels.

Ian Hughes

Morecambe

politics

Has the world gone mad?

In 2018, we have a US President who sports oompa loompa fake tan, says one thing in an interview and denies it as fake news in the next.

Two years into Brexit negotiations, with no agreement in sight, Nigel Farage is now saying that we will be worse off outside the EU.

Boris Johnson is making little attempt to conceal his lust for power, stymying Theresa May at every turn, regardless of the cost to the UK.

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In opposition, Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policies seem unworkable and based on a halcyon view of the 1970s.

In 2015, we had Barack Obama, David Cameron and Ed Miliband. It may not have seemed so at the time but, looking back, it was an oasis of sanity and reason before the world went mad.

Phil Cray

Scorton

brexit

It’s the worst

of all worlds

It seems to me that the commitment to avoiding a hard border in Ireland means that there can be no control on immigration between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

How do the Irish feel about becoming a major migration route?

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The more you examine our proposals, the more you feel that we have purposely not tried to achieve Brexit, failing to publicly refute any of the EU propaganda and putting forward something which appears to be unacceptable to either

side.

Perhaps, a cunning plan by a politician who personally wished to

remain.

However, we now seem to have achieved the worst of all worlds, both in our negotiations and the

impact upon our political parties.

AF

Leyland

politics

Photo worth a thousand words

They say a photo is worth a 1,000 words and again we see the truth in this saying.

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The latest NATO leaders’ photo – a quick google with NATO leaders photo 2018 – shows the assembled leaders all looking to their left at, probably, a flyover whereas President Trump is looking to the right, maybe looking for the Trump Blimp, even if it is waiting for him in a different country.

The worrying part is the symbolism that most of the world is looking one way – to progress and peace – whereas he is looking at new borders and tariffs to protect his country.

Sadly this will be his legacy.

Dennis Fitzgerald

via email

waste

Please return bins to kerb

Would it be possible to instruct refuse collectors to return bins – which are left out on the kerb for collection – to the kerb instead of leaving then on the roadside, where they can become a traffic obstruction to the cars, delivery vans, taxis, ambulances, and other increasing numbers of vehicles which visit the site at all hours of the day?

I have already pointed out to the department that residents may not always be available, due to holidays or other absences, to do this themselves.

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