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back to article Britain's waterways turning 'healthy' brown

A new study has revealed that Britain's rivers and streams are much healthier, if less aesthetically pleasing, than they were two decades ago. The change has been linked with the decline of acid rain since the 1970s, clearing up a riddle that has puzzled researchers for some time. But researchers warn that similar work in the …

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  1. John Colby
    Joke

    They've already dealt with the problem of brown water ...

    .. as they pipe it directly to motorway service areas and call it coffee.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Water supply looking pretty!?

    I saw a large self-congratulatory water company poster in the underground recently telling me my water supply was particularly clean and clear. Funny, when I turn on the tap it's cloudy and tastes like chlorine.

    (I'm optimistic about carbon not being released as CO2 when it reaches the ocean; although I'm not an expert, I suspect if that's what it did we'd see much higher carbon emissions pre-industrialisation since this surely must have been what rivers were doing before.)

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  3. Lucy Sherriff (Written by Reg staff)

    Coffee

    Sadly, the coffee shop near my train station is hooked up to the same supply.

    Lucy

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Water companies displeased?

    If I receive brown water in my taps can I blame Nicole Ritchie? Would Paris hate me for doing that?

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Heart

    My Water

    Looks pretty good .. like it has for the last 15 years or so anyway.

    Bit cloudy but then I do live in a very hard water area. But then thats linked to lower rates of heart disease so its probably good for me. High turn over in kettles though.

    @Lucy - you are probably putting milk in it as well .. <shudder>

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Milk in coffee?

    Should be rat milk. Well, it wouldn't make my coffee taste worse than cow's milk since I drink my coffee black...

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Water colouration?

    Luckily in my area all the brown colour leaks out of all the cracks in Thames Waters pipes before it reaches me. I knew they had my intentions at heart.....

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  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    uncivilised colonials

    While you yanks may prefer your coffee black, the rest of the civilised world tends to enjoy it with milk .. italy anyone?

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  9. skeptical i

    koffee kwality

    Given some of the ground cowchips I've seen passed off as "coffee", it's no surprise to see people loading their cups with enough cowmilk, sugar, and whatever other adulterants are available to make the swill palatable enough to chug down.

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  10. Paul Murray
    Thumb Up

    Black and two

    Robert Timms Mocha-Kenya coffe bags. Black, two "equal" tablets (phenylalanine). The water here in Canberra is quite nice, thankyou.

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  11. Spoonguard
    Flame

    White Coffee

    I never understand why people look at me funny when I drop half a cup of Ice Cream into my coffee.

    And then complain that it's cold.

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  12. Edward Rose

    Thames water?

    I thought the lumps in the Thames water blocked up the cracks in all the pipes? Or have conditions improved since then?

    Black, bitter, how coffee should be. If you want a sweet drink, try pure fruit juice. If you want a milky drink, suck on a cow's udder.

    Dog's milk, lasts longer than any other kind...

    Welsh (although don't live there now), and their water is great!

    So, instead of tackling 'Global Warming' does this report suggest we should look to tackle the smaller, individual things that affect the world we live in? Hell, we may finally stand a chance of getting there.

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