2012 UK Drought

[Coast]

Drought warning: Environment Secretary says hosepipe ban possible

Britain faces a hosepipe ban this summer, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has warned, as parts of England see groundwater levels lower than in the drought of 1976.

Ms Spelman is today hosting a drought summit with water companies, farmers and wildlife groups as rivers in central and south east England dry up. "A hosepipe ban is more likely this year. I think people were quite surprised last year that, not withstanding the fact that it was so dry, that there were no hosepipe bans," Ms Spelman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We have had the second dry winter in a row. Whereas last year it was principally the farmers that were affected by the dry conditions and the public water supply was not affected, I think it is more likely that the public water supply will be affected unless we have substantial rainfall between now and the summer," Ms Spelman said. She added: "The purpose of the summit is to get everybody round the table and decide what actions need to be taken against the risk of droughts." The north west and Scotland have seen substantial rainfall this winter. Ms Spelman said the government had been urged to build a pipeline to supply the south east, but added water is "heavy and costly to transport"

She called on families to start conserving water. "What's counter-intuitive is to start saving water now. You might think about saving water in the summer when it's hot. The point about having the summit now is to take preventative action so we can mitigate the impact in the future."

The average rainfall this winter has been lower than the months preceding the severe drought in 1976, which brought a summer of water rationing, damaged crops and wild fires. The worst affected areas are the east of England, the Midlands and the South East. The River Kennet in Wiltshire has dried up completely west of Marlborough. The River Chess in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, is also dry. The Environment Agency has begun moving fish out of some rivers because of the low levels of water, which is an unusual step to take in February.

http://www.telegraph...n-possible.html

[johnholmes]

I wish we could get the rainfall of June 2007 with the temperatures of.. June 2006.. that'd be nice for me, not hot but warm, and very wet.

you must be joking regarding the rainfall of 2007!

I assume you live on top of a hill or at any rate nowhere near the rivers that caused so much havoc in parts of Yorkshire and other areas of the country that month.

With my oversheltered, under reporting rain guage, on the 15th it showed 28+mm and on the 24th 58mm with a monthly total of 136.4mm, heaven only knows, I cannot remember, just how much actually fell in parts of Yorkshire in those two deluges, both documented in Weather by R Met Soc. No thank you-heat of 2006 okay but no 2007 rainfall repeat thanks.

Posting about the drought in areas over and east and south of me there is a very interesting article in this months' Weather about East Anglia with informative details about how temperature and rainfall has or has not varied since the turn of the 20th century.

Well worth a read if you are a member or your local library has a copy. I'm in the process of asking R Met Soc if I may copy and paste it into here.

Edited February 20, 2012 by johnholmes

[danm]

http://www.telegraph...of-England.html

Drought declared in the south east of England

The south east of England is now officially in a state of drought, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs admitted today.

The region joins parts of eastern England which have been drought-afflicted since last summer, with some reservoirs, rivers and groundwater aquifers in the South East well below normal levels after two dry winters.

The state of drought in the region was declared after the Environment Department (Defra) convened a summit of water companies, farmers and wildlife groups today to discuss potential water shortages in England.

Following the summit, Thames Water warned that there was a high chance of water restrictions such as hosepipe bans this summer, unless there was significant rainfall or customers used less water.

It comes after Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said most of Britain was facing a hosepipe ban this summer as groundwater levels lower than in the drought of 1976.

"A hosepipe ban is more likely this year. I think people were quite surprised last year that, not withstanding the fact that it was so dry, that there were no hosepipe bans," Ms Spelman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We have had the second dry winter in a row. Whereas last year it was principally the farmers that were affected by the dry conditions and the public water supply was not affected, I think it is more likely that the public water supply will be affected unless we have substantial rainfall between now and the summer," Ms Spelman said.

She added: "The purpose of the summit is to get everybody round the table and decide what actions need to be taken against the risk of droughts."

The north west and Scotland have seen substantial rainfall this winter. Ms Spelman said the government had been urged to build a pipeline to supply the south east, but added water is "heavy and costly to transport".

She called on families to start conserving water. "What's counter-intuitive is to start saving water now. You might think about saving water in the summer when it's hot. The point about having the summit now is to take preventative action so we can mitigate the impact in the future."

The average rainfall this winter has been lower than the months preceding the severe drought in 1976, which brought a summer of water rationing, damaged crops and wild fires.

The worst affected areas are the east of England, the Midlands and the South East. The River Kennet in Wiltshire has dried up completely west of Marlborough. The River Chess in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, is also dry. The Environment Agency has begun moving fish out of some rivers because of the low levels of water, which is an unusual step to take in February.

Edited February 20, 2012 by danm

[Summer Sun]

Here in Darlington we have had just 5mm of rain so far this month,

I have just been looking at the rain fall stats from last year and compared them to this year

Rain Fall

January 2011 - 32mm

January 2012 - 27mm

So that's only a difference of 5mm

February 2011 - 65mm

February 2012 - 5mm*

Now that is a huge difference of 60mm which tells its own story and why drought warnings are now been issued

We are on a run of 8 successive day's now without rain fall, and 16 day's in total this month so far.

The only other February which saw very low rain fall recently was way back in 2008 when just 12mm fell, but January had brought 106mm so there was no water issues.

*As of 20/2/2012

[March Blizzard]

There seems to have been a very marked NW/SE split in terms of rainfall this winter. For me at least, the overall impression i get from this winter is that it has been quite wet. The closest Met Office station to me (Woodford) recorded 174.6mm in Dec 2011 and 95mm in Jan 2012. Feb has been a bit of a mixed bag, dry(ish) first 10-12 days but quite a bit of rain in the last week or so. Capel Curig recorded a massive 468.8mm in Dec 2011 yet Loftus only managed 31.4mm and Holbeach 32.8mm.

I would selfishly love to see cold and dry weather develop in March but it would be far more beneficial for the Atlantic to dominate, especially for those in the south/east.

[Coast]

Bewl reservoir is now down to 41% of full fill and Southern Water are seeking permission to divert some of the River Medway to keep it topped up.

http://www.bournelocal.co.uk/news/moves_to_refill_reservoir_1_3539108

[roughyed]

Things must be bad, Piers hasn't been invited to advise the Drought Task Force...

[TEITS]

My rainfall figures for this winter are even worse than 2010/11. Only 12mm this month and the combined winter total is 77mm.

Have to say im not surprised other parts have now joined Cambs, Lincs, W Norfolk in officially being declared as in a drought. This is very concerning especially as winter is normally the period when water levels are topped up. A dry spring/hot summer will be a disaster for these areas.

[A Winter's Tale]

Here in Scotland it's been pretty wet since May. For most, Summer 2011 was rubbish (here because of cloud, rain and cool temps) but further south was it poor because of cloud and poor temps. Really, the weather has been messed up since that lovely, warm but odd April we had last year and this resulted in the most dull weather and most messed up seasons - no summer at all, no autumn and a short winter - non existent for some further north east and south west.

I'm really don't want to see the same overly cloudy and wet conditions continuing. Some short-lived but regular enough frontal rainfall would be nice to avoid drought but to have more interesting, varied in temps, predominatly sunny conditions in between.

I think come May we'll know where we are heading for summer but my feelings aren't good. I feel that another dry Spring for England is on the cards but I expect to see a slightly better summer than last year - but nothing at all spectacular. However, the last thing the reservoirs need is a long, hot, dry, sunny summer. To avoid the totally messed up weather since April 2011 and the excess of rainfall and cloud in Scotland and lack of rain in England, we need to see a balance, we need regular rainfall, with long, sunny periods inbetween with showers. This makes for more interesting weather, avoids drought and makes things feel seasonal.

I think a very interesting 2012 is coming up, after having such an odd year in weather in 2011, it'll be interesting to see how this year pans out - will it be record breaking, how good will it be and whether Spring will be warm, will summer and autumn be non-existent will winter be more interesting. Personally, I feel that this Spring is crucial for the weather this year - let's say that April will be pivotal. Any signals of change in pattern or change underway could determin whether we get a good summer, we get a proper autumn and winter.

[La Bise]

The Ladybower reservoirs certainly looked very full yesterday, at least it's not parched everywhere...

[Terminal Moraine]

The Ladybower reservoirs certainly looked very full yesterday, at least it's not parched everywhere...

Yes, the northern half of the Peak seems to have been on the cusp of wetter weather to the north west and the dry weather further south east. Here at the southern end of the Peak District rainfall has been a little above average over December and January combined but well below during February. Carsington Water is still only about 70% full and even this level has been achieved only by a very expensive pumping operation to extract water from the river Derwent which has reached near flood level only once this winter.

It seems it will take either a very wet Spring or something quite exceptional during the Summer to prevent areas south and south east of here suffering water restrictions in the warmer months.

[phil nw.]

The T48hrs. fax is typical of the current setup and shows where most of this weeks rain is likely to be.

Not good for areas further south and east with the fronts weakening as they come up against the High pressure.

Current modelling trends the High closer to the UK going into March with many areas becoming dry so no immediate prospects of drought relief.

The mean heights for days 8-10.

[If Wishes made Weather]

Very dry as well for Stortford. The River Stort always appears reasonable owing to the many locks to allow for boats, but the Lee is, I believe at just 24% nomal level.

[A Winter's Tale]

If the Azores High stays for Spring what would it mean for us?

This Spring, I'd like to see a few colder days, lots of sunshine and some warmth and interesting weather but I'm prepared to sacrifice a snowy spring for a good summer, autumn and winter and I still believe Spring won't be that bad anyway if it were to happen. I'd take snow in Spring but despite the lack of snow in January and February, overall I'm content that winter wasn't a disaster and it had some good moments and I believe that this Spring due to a warmer continent (in other years my attitude would be different).

I'd like to see the Azores High continue through Spring to bring some interesting weather in but hopefully to have good moments, and then to have a good summer like 2006 and then for the Azores High to disapear and to allow for an interesting, seasonal autumn and winter. Although this would bring problems in terms of drought, I believe that in doing this we'll sort out the messed up weather since April 2011 and this would mean back to normality and good, proper, interesting weather.

[woodside]

Living on Arran all I can say is no more rain please. It seems to have rained constantly since September.

September 196mm (my 7 year average 109mm)

October 262mm (ave 137mm)

November 183mm (109mm)

December 297mm (123mm)

2011 total 1813mm (1242mm)

January 222mm (146mm)

February (so far) 90mm (77mm)

I had one dry day from 16th November to 13th January and I live on the drier side of the island!

The fields have had standing water in them for months and you daren't take a vehicle onto them or they turn into quagmires. With lambing about to get underwy a dry spell is badly needed.

[recklessabandon]

Critically I know that a number of farmers and agribusinesses are cutting back on their planting in the east midlands and east anglia now because they know they cannot sustain previous rates of agriculture on what are now very limited water supplies. This will have a direct impact on food costs later in the year it would be assumed and with no real escape in sight in the short term this is a concern.

This disparity between east and west is quite remarkable, even in the north east the dry weather is notable with the condition of many trails through the moorland and peat 'bogs' relatively dry for the time of year, but becoming much wetter as you head westward.

...oh and for what its worth its not the lack of rainfall that is the long term problem...its that there are too many people in the same place....

Edited February 21, 2012 by recklessabandon

[reef]

Its turning out to be an exceptionally dry winter here, with only 67.0mm so far, thats behind even 2005/06 which saw 86.3mm and well below the 1971-2000 average of 163.0mm.

Figures so far:

DEC: 39.4mm

JAN: 20.4mm

FEB: 7.2mm

The last 12 months have only seen 308.2mm rainfall aswell, thats only 52% of average! Luckily we arent in drought as Yorkshire Water learnt from the mid-90s and the stand-pipes and we get most of our water from further west.

[La Bise]

Intriguing comments Terminal Moraine/Recklessabandon, there seem to be great variations even in smallish areas (the Peak District is not exactly a huge area and there is not that much distance between Carsington and Ladybower reservoirs).

[Aaron]

Its turning out to be an exceptionally dry winter here, with only 67.0mm so far, thats behind even 2005/06 which saw 86.3mm and well below the 1971-2000 average of 163.0mm.

Figures so far:

DEC: 39.4mm

JAN: 20.4mm

FEB: 7.2mm

The last 12 months have only seen 308.2mm rainfall aswell, thats only 52% of average! Luckily we arent in drought as Yorkshire Water learnt from the mid-90s and the stand-pipes and we get most of our water from further west.

I hear there could be flooding issues in Skipton to the the source of the River Aire receiving a lot of rain recently, I guess we're lucky that even though lowland Yorkshire is pretty dry, and has been very dry the past few months, that areas further west are still very wet, and this is where most of our rivers begin.

[conor123]

Just watch after such a dry bland spell of weather were have a washout summer now to top it off :lol:

March is already looking desert like again and im sure April will be to and then bam.

[recklessabandon]

Intriguing comments Terminal Moraine/Recklessabandon, there seem to be great variations even in smallish areas (the Peak District is not exactly a huge area and there is not that much distance between Carsington and Ladybower reservoirs).

Just been looking at the METO maps, even the difference between east and west County Durham is very marked, with East Durham being at around 60-70% of average for the last 6 months and west being 90% of average. When you consider those percentages in terms of actual rain falling the difference become even starker, given than 'average' for west Durham is around three times the 'average' for east Durham.....you end up with current ppn rates closer to 400mm/yr east Durham 1800mm/yr west Durham....

[Coast]

It's really not looking good:

http://drought.mssl....%2Fdrought.html

[Coast]

[recklessabandon]

In all of the years of political debate about the north/south divide and the associated 'haves' and 'have nots' successive political groups all missed the fact that it would one day come down to humanity's most basic requirement.....and suddenly the 'have nots' have it all....

[Coast]

Q&A: How to deal with the UK's drought

Consumers have been warned to start taking action to preserve water so that the UK can deal with the current drought.

On Monday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed that much of southern and eastern England was officially in a state of drought. Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has said everyone must find a way to save water, but how urgent a need is this?

What is a drought and what regions in the UK are affected?

The government has warned that large areas of the UK are either already in drought or facing the possibility of a drought this year. The government does not just rely on a single trigger to declare an area to be in drought - instead, according to Defra, it "involves a combination of cumulative low rainfall, the effects of that on groundwater levels and river flows and the consequences for environment, abstractors and public supplies". Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and west Norfolk were officially given drought status in June 2011. And on Monday the Environment Agency gave East Anglia and the South East, including Hampshire and Oxfordshire, official drought status.

How bad is the drought expected to get?

On Monday Ms Spelman said the country was expecting to experience a prolonged period of very low rainfall. She told the BBC: "While last year it was principally the farmers that were affected by the dry winter... I think it is more likely that the public water supply will be affected unless we have substantial rainfall between now and the summer." The Defra spokeswoman added that Essex, Sussex and Norfolk were among those being carefully monitored, while Shropshire and Nottinghamshire were continuing to experience drought conditions. The Environment Agency has also published a map on its website which suggests that areas facing a high risk of drought in 2012 include those surrounding London, as well as Peterborough, Lincoln and Birmingham. It is also due, in March, to publish its drought prospects report, setting out areas expected to face drought this spring and summer. Met Office forecaster Dave Britton said he agreed it would take "substantial rainfall" to bring resources back up to the levels required in parts of the UK but it was difficult to provide an exact long-range forecast. He said the organisation's prediction for the next 30 days showed below average rainfall for the eastern and possibly southern areas. He also warned that, during a drought, any heavy rain which did occur could lead to flash flooding, especially in urban areas laid with a lot of concrete.

Will there be a hosepipe ban?

Water companies in England and Wales are required to have 25-year plans in place outlining how they will manage water shortfalls. These plans, available on the Environment Agency website, state that before a ban can be considered, the companies have to run publicity campaigns to encourage consumers to cut down on water wastage. hey also have to try to fix any leaks and make sure they have back-up systems in place. Lee Dance, who is in charge of water resources at South East Water, said that while the company was not yet "running out of water", it was starting to think about how to deal with the drought. He said: "In the absence of any prolonged periods of rainfall to bring all our water resources back to normal for this time of year, we are having to plan prudently for restricting customers' non-essential use of water by banning the use of sprinklers and hosepipes. "Those restrictions may need to come into force as early as the spring, in order to protect public water supplies for the absolute essentials - drinking, washing and cooking." And Thames Water's sustainability director, Richard Aylard, warned: "There is a high chance we will need restrictions at some stage this summer unless either we get a lot of rain or fantastic co-operation from customers using less water."

A spokesman for Anglian Water told the BBC no concrete decision had yet been made about banning people from using hosepipes, but it was not something that could be ruled out. He said it depended on how much water was left in reservoirs by the time the decision was made. However he said that, as the company serviced a traditionally dry area, it was constantly trying to encourage customers to save water where they could.

What should gardeners do?

Guy Barter, chief horticultural adviser to the Royal Horticultural Society, told the BBC that now was the time for people to start planting their flowers, trees and shrubs. He said saving water should be done at all times and advised people to use water butts to collect rainwater before the dry weather came in April. "There is still lots of moisture in the soil now compared to when we get to June and August. People should take advantage of that and lay any turf or plant anything they need to as early as they possibly can," he said. He added that gardeners should think carefully about what plants they chose to buy and advised they looked for ones that would not need a great deal of water. These could include geraniums and spiky leafed or soft fleshy plants such as yucca plants or fuchsias. He advised people to avoid hosepipes and instead use watering cans or dig ridges into the soil surrounding their plans so the water would soak through. He added: "I also wouldn't worry if you have a long-established plant which sheds its leaves. It is probably taking care of itself during the drought and you are likely to see it return to health next year."

What can people do to preserve water?

Hot weather resulted in a severe drought in the UK in 1976 Mr Aylard urged people to turn off taps while cleaning their teeth, take shorter showers, fix leaks and only wash laundry with a full load.

Meanwhile Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust, warned that members of his organisation were also already having to take drastic action to ensure fish stocks were not depleted because of the water problems. In a statement, he said many people were unaware of the "crippling drought" and river water levels across the country had been widely affected, causing problems for the wildlife that lived in them. "Angling, one of the nation's favourite pastimes and an important economic driver, has become impossible in many areas or clubs have closed their waters to protect the fish," he said.

What are the other implications?

Gwyn Jones from the National Farmers Union told Monday's water summit how his members would be affected by the drought. He repeated his call on the government to extend the period in which farmers could remove water from rivers to fill storage reservoirs beyond the current date of March - but only if there was enough rainfall. He also said that food security needed to be considered on a par with issues affecting the water and energy sector as a result of the drought

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17111554