Did anyone else know that the reservoirs are running so low? Wildlife must be struggling.

[hajbajkajlad]

I just saw a couple of photos from the other thread, the hosepipe ban one.
I'm a bit worried about this.

We've been exceptionally warm for spring, I've put out water bowls for animals and watered the young trees planted recently (the leaves were curling it's been so dry)
I haven't seen any hedgehogs this year at all, no frogs and less birds than usual. we have a small pond in the garden that usually attracts lots of visitors.

Aibu to be worried about the wildlife?
I wish there was more that I could do.

New build front gardens are criminal IMO. Their front gardens barely sustain a small shrub.
As well as lack of biodiversity the crammed in houses and increased concrete surfaces must really heat those homes up in summer.
If I was in charge they'd all have gravel parking and electric charging for two cars. Small shrubs and grassy area (can be tiny as it's out front) and a micro pond. As well as footpaths and wider roads so kids can play. (Yes, I don't know where this money is coming from and I'd last 5 minutes at the local council before I got sacked for moaning about no one taking green issues seriously).

Just because extinctions happen doesn’t mean it’s right to make them happen- bizarre argument

people die so it’s ok to kill them ? No? Thought not

In the scheme of things the devastating loss of wildlife is one thing really worth being highly strung about.

Thankfully new govt is tackling that: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-steps-in-to-build-first-major-reservoirs-in-30-years

OP, you are helping already. Spead the word. see what your local wildlife trust is doing. many councils are reducing mowing or mowing paths only to encourage wild plants, which help retain insects birds and mammals, providing food shelter and water.

of all the problems we have as a society, this is one where individual actions can make the most difference.

Just read another thread in which 20 minute showers seem to be the norm.

Water is blue gold. We're frittering it away with no thought of the consequences. Then wonder why the lakes are drying up, there's empty reservoirs and we're in the state we are.

Yes, water companies should bear responsibility for mismanagement. But we're all should bear responsibility and start treating our beautiful planet with respect.

If Mother Earth was a poster on AIBU, we would all tell her she was being appallingly mistreated and the thankless ingrates (all of us) are all completely U.

I agree that it’s worrying. Water is taken for granted. Nice to see others helping wildlife with nature friendly gardens and water being supplied for animals and birds.

There’s a new topic on mumsnet under ‘other’ called ‘wildlife, nature and conservation’ which may be of interest to some of the posters on this thread.

Its difficult to build new reservoirs now, the amount of environment studies needed to build anything doubles or triples the cost of most things - and then public inquiries ....
At a certain point we have to come to the realisation that for the UK to continue to be a place for people to live we have to put what we need (water storage, crop growing land, power generation) above saving the 3 toes newts and bats.

why are we required to flush toilets with clean potable water, why can we not recycle the washing machine run off to wash cars, patios, conservatory floor, outside window ledges etc., why are new houses not built with this possibility, why do owners of thirsty gardens not have water butts, why do we clean teeth or wash hands under running water, why are we so wasteful

Put bowls of water in your garden for animals,

Yes all new houses should be built with rainwater harvesting systems as standard, so you flush loos with rainwater rather than mains water.

Not really, just very realistic. YOU may not care if there’s water rationing in future, but I do because I have a child.
Humans have become those selfish plague consuming everything in our path.

I'd love a grey water system for the garden or toilet flushing. All new homes should have one.

There's meant to be a new reservoir near Portsmouth but it's not surprisingly taken years (decades?) to sort out.

That's not really relevant as it's my (and my neighbours) direct action causing this problem for these animals.

Yes yes we all know that the earth is older than us but when we are directly contributing to the problems and we know it but do nothing about it it becomes an ethical problem too.

I know me being on my phone right now is an ethical dilemma; do I want to use it for work (food and shelter) and for entertainment? yes. do I know its the result of a lot of devastation to massive areas due to mining and even more carbon emissions to keep it and the servers it uses running. yet I do it anyway.

The problem is we have gone too far from the equilibrium. If we all ate local fresh food and had clean rivers and seas that were full of food and no pollution we'd all be better off. or would we? I don't know I think so.

I feel like I can see solution after solution but these aren't a possibility because I have no power to change anything.

sums it up nicely

so true!
aibu? my children are hacking off my limbs and drinking my blood but should o continue to sustain them until they die out?

@Lazygardener I’m of the same mind. We are working on making our garden a little haven for wildlife, but beyond that it feels insurmountable.

It was a dick response tbf.

Have any of you heard of gurilla gardening?
I've planted a box of wildflower seeds in a bare patch that I just dumped some compost on and they've sprouted!

I also take the old tins for sweets you get at Christmas to the park and fill them with water. People think its for the dogs but it's actually for the hogs!

I can't think what else to do?
Bird boxes, insect hotels woth the kids but there's not enough of me to do much.

We have a small wildlife pond in the garden which we planted up with watercress from the salad section of the supermarket. The salad section!

I'll take a photo, it's done really well!

Agreed. Why are golf courses still being watered whilst wildlife is left to suffer?

We put out water and food for the birds and top up the bowls in the evening, putting down kitten biscuits for the hedgehogs. I try and do my bit for the struggling wildlife. Sadly a huge farmers field next to me is due to be built on, this will affect nesting birds etc, lots of gardens now aren’t wildlife friendly, concrete boards for fences don’t allow hedgehogs to roam between gardens. There are solutions out there but developers don’t care.

We can all do our bit with our own little patches of earth. We have water butts, use tap run-off to full watering jugs and are conscious of choosing plants that can tolerate long periods of dry weather.

Our window boxes are filled with pollinator-friendly plants and we have purple and white flowers to attract the bees.

I bought a couple of tiny pots of wild daisies a few years ago (Erigeron karvinskianus) which self-seeded way beyond my expectations and now our once-grey and drab drive is festooned with beautiful pink and white flowers all around the edges. The bees love it. And so do I.

It's very easy to feel helpless and "what's the point" of it all, but really it's a choice to be proactive and do something that makes the future a little more hopeful.

I top up a shallow tray of cold water in my garden each day. The birds drink and bathe in it.

Many of us doing small things like this will make a difference.

But water needs to be seen as a valuable resource with better management by water companies. I reported a leak on a main road last month and it took six weeks for the water company to bother to come out to fix it. Our bills have gone up so why are they still so shit?

The water companies CEO’s siphon off the profits. Water should be brought back into government control. Water butts, permeable driveways, trees and flowers where possible would help flooding which is also a massive issue.

There were a lot less of us.

Lady bower this week, I know it's higher in winter but still

Al the reservoirs we passed were low