To think that people don’t grasp that we can be in a drought even when the weather is cool?

I don’t think it’s fair to say ‘everybody thinks it’s all good now’?

I mean obviously there will always be some unintelligent people around but it’s not the majority.

Yes I care, but I also know my usage is nothing compared to the massive corporations. So whilst I live by if it’s yellow let it mellow….i also will water my garden

I think people care but hypocrisy from the water companies leads to understandable apathy. If the water companies don’t care enough to fix the leaks at the same time as charging us extortionate prices then it seems like the problem can’t be that bad. Equally, if the government won’t force the water companies to do more to save water and instead prioritises shareholders profits, then why should people let their gardens die off even more? It isn’t a problem that can be fixed by the little people.

Can you explain how you've reached the conclusion that "everybody thinks it’s all good right now" ?

I must say I wasn't particularly aware the situation was so bad until I heard the news about the recent drought announcements.
The area I live in isnt one of the worst affected and i'm not a big water user, particularly now I dont need to water the garden.
I don't know what the publicity is like in the very dry areas but I expect the visual evidence is all around. But I do think it is really important to keep this issue in the news and yes i care very much.

But the ‘massive corporations’ themselves exist to provide services for the public. They’re not completely separate entities.

Yanbu.

I’m in one of the worst affected areas and there are few visible signs - the fields and grass are green again. But go up to the reservoirs and they are extremely low.

This is how I feel.

As an individual I do more than enough. I haven’t taken a flight in 10 years. DH drives but I can’t, so we have 1 car in our household and I’ve always taken public transport. I’m mindful of over consumption, I buy most things second hand, we don’t eat much meat. I clean using white vinegar so my impact of the water system is minimal. We spent a small fortune replacing our hideous plastic grass garden with real grass and insect friendly plants and trees.

But the water companies here do nothing but increase prices, discharge sewage into the sea and make local people and animals sick. They’ve made record profits while dumping literal shit into the environment and doing fuck all to change it.

So nope, we’re going to have to hit rock bottom with this one.

I honestly think now is the time to go nanny state and start public ads spelling stuff out for all the ‘I’m entitled to’ people. In every aspect of life but pander to them and make it seems like these things work out for them eg you know if you drive less it’ll cost you less, you know walking is free? You know if you use less electricity it’s cheaper? etc etc etc

We recieved a message from our water provider reminding people there was still a hosepipe ban yesterday.

I had assumed the ban was over to be honest as we had some rain but also wondered why anyone needed to use one now it was raining enough.

I didn't think the drought was over or not though. I was thinking how many trees are going to make it through winter aa the damage is done, and I hope the reserves fill up now.

The privatised water companies make me sick - the public have been completely taken as mugs.

But this drought situation affects us all. If we have to move to stand pipes, each person will get 10 litres a day, for drinking, cooking, washing, everything. It’s in everyone’s interest to conserve water AND keep the pressure up on the water companies to fix leaks.

I'm in the southwest with the highest water charges in the country, apparently. A lot of this area was under three feet of water in February. Now we are in severe drought. Doesn't stop moron down the road pressure washing his car twice a week, but SWW don't have a 'phone number to report it.

Yes it’s ridiculous isn’t it? I reported a leak back in the summer and the report form was buried in a hard to find corner of their website. And it took them over two weeks to fix it.

They make it as hard as possible for the public to contact them because doing anything that meets their legal obligations, like repairing leaks or tackling hosepipe ban breaches, costs them and cuts into their precious profits.

I think it’s really difficult to get people to believe there’s a serious drought when one look out the window shows it’s pouring with rain. It just reinforces the idea that it isn’t over consumption or lack of rain which is causing the problem - it is mismanagement from water companies.

I live in a very wet area, only emptied my water butts once this summer. I did send lots of clips of our rain to my jealous southern friends.

What I am most annoyed about is golf courses being watered if they are using anything but their own reservoirs, and even then that stops the water table refilling.

Why are shareholders still being paid and senior executives getting huge salaries.

In Denmark everyone is on a water meter and their consumption is half per capita of ours with a similar climate. We need to look at what else they are doing differently. It’s also simple things like watering your garden at dusk etc.

I reported a leak in September 2025 and the water is still streaming down the lane!

Must be their mismanagement it basically rained non stop from January - April this year here.

I think water companies have some responsibility the same as industry and individual households.
I've been following the fate of rivers like the Danube and the Rhine. It's a wakeup call for all of us!

Wow that’s really shocking!

There is no area called “Tyne” in Lothian. The data AI has scraped for your post has been misread. If this is the kind of information you want people to base their views about drought on, it’s no wonder people don’t take it seriously.

I’ve done the work you should have and checked the sources. SEPA publish a weekly water scarcity report. This week’s report shows only the river Tweed in Scotland that has significant scarcity where restrictions are in place. The river Tyne in Lothian is in moderate scarcity, but no action is required. The rest of the Country has a few rivers to be watched or is entirely normal. Looking at previous weekly reports, the picture is that water levels are lower than usual in some areas of the country but it is an improving situation.

This! I am fairly careful with water. I used to be extremely careful with it. I drained the bathtub through a hose into the garden previously but the having read so many times about how much water companies lose in leaks and their general lack of investments I can’t be bothered going to so much effort. We do live in an area that was never in drought this year. Maybe I’d go to more effort if we did

Another one living in drought area. Our local reservoir is at 21% capacity. Most expensive water rates in the country, sewage being discharged into the sea making people ill. It's maddening. Then you get someone on Cornwall Live comments section sharing a picture of himself watering the garden because he doesn't care!

It's not like it didn't rain for 6 months straight last winter.. better investment in the infrastructure/new reservoirs needed. I don't know at what point the water has to be rationed.

Whenever anything is posted on social media about the drought, the laughing emoticons appear. I just think, if they're not bots, they make people look really thick. As though they think "it's rained a bit, this must be a conspiracy".

No, no one likes the water companies, and they have been and continue to mismanage and pollute and cream off profits and the expense of sustainability. They still can't make it rain. People use the likes of South West Water's track record as an excuse to refuse to even slightly inconvenience themselves.

Seems as though the general policy regarding the water problem in this country is "Blind optimism that it'll rain loads".

Last winter was a year ago now almost. How long do you think 6 months of rain should last exactly? Especially when it didn't rain for months? That 6 months of rain got us through a long hot months long drought without us running out which is great but it's obviously not going to last forever.