Article about a 'British super-drought'

[GloriaSmud]

In today's Guardian.

South may get something on Tuesday - rain/sleet and possibly a little snow. Might not add up to very much for many though.

Anything for Cumbria?

I have a snow thread going will update it then post the link here.

snow thread

IMo this is as much to do about the infrastructure of our country as it is to do about the weather.

I do not believe many new reserviors have been built and created to match the increase in the UK population.

I think it could rain solid for 6 months and as soon as we have a dry fortnight in April - a water company somewhere would complain there was a water shortage.

I think more needs to be done to reserve MORE water - another word more reservoirs.

It is true to a certain extent queenofcake, but there is no doubt about it, this has been an exceptionally dry 12 months for much of England.

I'm amazed by how many people seem to think that consistently lower rainfall, more people and more water used per person would not lead to problems, if it weren't for those greedy water companies

Yes, storage is part of the problem as the population has grown; but frankly, people are using ridiculous amounts of water - even a low-flush toilet will send 4 liters of perfectly good water down the drain - in many parts of the world those 4 liters will make the difference between life or death. Building more reservoirs (not entirely sure they are needed; how will we fill them up if it doesn' rain?) and improving infrastructure should go hand in hand with changing our demands, and it's cheaper and quicker to start managing our demand than putting in a reservoir.

The attitude of those that say they'll use however much water they want until the water companies have fixed all the leaky pipes also demonstrates a lack of understanding of how the water cycle works. Groundwater is as much part of this as surface water, and in England I believe quite a bit of the water that comes from the taps is actually groundwater. Leaking water pipes, maybe rather perversely, contribute to maintaining the water table, especially in cities where every bit of ground has been tarmaced over (but hey, everyone is entitled to a smooth driveway, right!), so rain doesn't stand a chance to actually make it into the ground. Leaking pipes aren't so much about wasting water, but about wasting energy (i.e. making potable water costs a lot of energy which gets wasted as it doesn't reach the customer).

here's hoping for rain sooner rather than later

Oricella is dead right, the south and east of England relies primarily on groundwater for it's supplies. These areas of the country have very little rainfall (there's some bizarre statistic that I forget that compares the area to Suadi Arabia!) and sadly it's also the south and east of the country where the population density is highest and hence so is demand. Groundwater is replenished during the winter. In the summer, temperatures are sufficiently high, along with demands from plant growth to stop rainfall from actually reaching the water table (except in extreme conditions). So even if it rains buckets this summer, any restrictions are unlikely to be lifted until the end of a wet winter when the water table will hopefully have recovered. The British public could really do with understanding this. We seem to think the stuff just falls out of the skies (!). Next time you feel aggrieved about it all, bear in mind that water companies model an allowance of 120 litres per head of population per day. Imagine having to carry that on your head from the (not so) local water hole as many people around the world do, and then be glad that yours generally falls directly out of your own tap. And it's clean enough not to kill you either. A hose pipe ban doesn't look such a big deal then, does it?

I'm not complaining about a ban and I am an obsessive gardener who luckily has followed Andrew and Beth Chatto's philosophies about where you plant and what you plant.
The issue is more complex than a mere house pipe ban. That is as reductionist as placing all the blame on shareholder bias. the water companies need to address their dated infra structure. That is their responsibility. Ours is to preserve water and reduce needless consumption.

We were meant to have some decent rainfall in Hampshire today. There's a bit of light rain now, not as much as was orginally forecast and not enough to do any good.

Once again meglet, it didn't seem to make it into that area. It is as though a giant umbrella has been installed. Am in the south and measured 1.6 mm today. What use was that?! Tomorrow's rain prospects have all but evaporated too.

Stupid magic rain shield. Nothing of worth last night and it looks similar today. Once again the models promise wet stuff next week....

latest EA report about the water situation.

There may be some relief next week as unsettled weather reaches all. Low pressure areas begin to dominate the weather.

drought order extended to include 17 more counties affecting the midlands and the sw.
Seems ironic as we experience an unsettled spell but unfortunately at this time of year a lot of rain either evaporates or gets drunk by the plants.

It feels odd knowing that we're under drought conditions yet having to think about taking a coat because rain is forecast, a lot of the time!
Just noticed that along with the rain, there's a weather warning for snow, for Scotland tomorrow.

well spotted on the warning! Do you fancy putting it on the snow thread?

Have done a post (about the warning) on the snow thread!
(How are you doing?)

Thank you :)

I'm doing a lot better thanks - went back to work today :) Its clear it was those poxy drugs making me feel so poorly.

(I didn't mean to disappear yesterday ~ we're having internet problems atm. I have the computer engineer DH working on it!)

So pleased you feel/are well enough to go back to work. Have I remembered right that you're still waiting for an appointment to see someone?

I am waiting to see the consultant who will do the ablation (I didnt realise it wasnt the other consultant that Id been waiting to see who had to see me before he referred me on) Very drawn out all this but I am so glad to be feeling so much better.

Ah, I thought you were waiting for another appointment ~ more 'get a move on vibes' needed! But yes, 'tis good you're feeling better.

My husband is Kenyan. He cracks up laughing when we (media) talk of droughts in Britain.

He's got a point, really...