Drought Watch

[minus10]

5 hours ago, Nick L said:

After checking through the cumulative radar for August as well as a few local stations just SE of London, we are definitely drier. Roughly a line from Aylesbury to west Norfolk have missed absolutely everything pretty much. 2.4mm here for the month. Really is remarkable...

Think that sums up perfectly the two nation 'wet and dry' uk this summer..

[reef]

6 hours ago, Nick L said:

After checking through the cumulative radar for August as well as a few local stations just SE of London, we are definitely drier. Roughly a line from Aylesbury to west Norfolk have missed absolutely everything pretty much. 2.4mm here for the month. Really is remarkable...

That's actually incredibly accurate. We're on 10.8mm of rain this month and the image shows us on 10mm. It also shows the strange rain shadow we've had over northern parts of East Yorkshire.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

For the last few days now, afternoon showers were forecast for my location today with around an 80% chance. But yet again (which has been all too common this year), that has been cancelled and it's now forecast to be dry all day with only a 25% chance.

Wouldn't surprise me if 2022 ends up being the driest year on record.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Weather Enthusiast91

[*Stormforce~beka*]

I filled my water butt with the hose. Is that against the law?

[Methuselah]

38 minutes ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

I filled my water butt with the hose. Is that against the law?

Well, Beka, what an interesting question. But I guess it depends on just how you approach your local water authority (SW Water?)? But: Can I put water in my butt using a hosepipe? Mightn't go down too well!

[Skullzrulerz]

Water chiefs brace for drought in England to last into next year

NEWS.SKY.COM

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Rain in autumn and winter could wash away drought fears, but planning is under way in case coming months stay dry.

 

[richie3846]

1 hour ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

I filled my water butt with the hose. Is that against the law?

I would say it is against the law as you are watering the garden via a hosepipe, via an extra hurdle.

[damianslaw]

13 hours ago, Nick L said:

After checking through the cumulative radar for August as well as a few local stations just SE of London, we are definitely drier. Roughly a line from Aylesbury to west Norfolk have missed absolutely everything pretty much. 2.4mm here for the month. Really is remarkable...

Great relief map! 

[damianslaw]

The Lake District has only had two notably wet intervals this month so far. The first on the 1st, where many saw 2 inches. The second last Saturday which only affected northern parts - another 2 inches. These are figures for valleys. The fells will have had much more. 

[h2005__uk__]

4 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

I filled my water butt with the hose. Is that against the law?

Yes, unfortunately it's pretty much anything with a hose (assuming you're in an area with a ban of course!).

Edited August 23, 2022 by h2005__uk__

[Puddy Galore]

10 hours ago, Weather Enthusiast91 said:

For the last few days now, afternoon showers were forecast for my location today with around an 80% chance. But yet again (which has been all too common this year), that has been cancelled and it's now forecast to be dry all day with only a 25% chance.

Wouldn't surprise me if 2022 ends up being the driest year on record.

Went up the garden an hour ago to put foster kitties to bed for the night and felt two raindrops on me - yay!  

5 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

I filled my water butt with the hose. Is that against the law?

Did anyone see you do it though?  If we get a ban, I will have to use the hosepipe to fill the pond but I think I may be okay with that one?

[Nick L]

It doesn't matter what you use your hosepipe for, if there's a ban then it's banned, surely?

[Mapantz]

Take the hose off of the tap, fill a bucket up with water, fill the water butt, and keep repeating. You can't get in trouble with that process.. that's why hose pipe bans are so vague.

My pond has an auto top-up system connected via a hose. Probably no more than a bucket of water is added to it on a daily basis. When I water the garden, I take watering cans of water from the pond to do it. It makes the plants grow bigger and better too!

[Wold Topper]

Indeed, if i wash the car at the weekend, i will swill it off with a couple of watering cans, bucket of hot soapy water to wash as normal and rinse it off with a couple more watering cans, no hosepipe used, no laws broken!?!

[*Stormforce~beka*]

5 hours ago, richie3846 said:

I would say it is against the law as you are watering the garden via a hosepipe, via an extra hurdle.

YEa it's that hurdle bit that I don't get. I mean I've been filling my watering can ... from the the hose ... and using that before ... Still a hurdle?

43 minutes ago, Snowycat said:

Went up the garden an hour ago to put foster kitties to bed for the night and felt two raindrops on me - yay!  

Did anyone see you do it though?  If we get a ban, I will have to use the hosepipe to fill the pond but I think I may be okay with that one?

My neighbour has been doing the same! And using it for his watering can. Pond is ok if you have fish. If not then no. Not filled ours up

[Cheshire Freeze]

Read that there is genuinely concern within the industry that if there is not a lot of rainfall this winter, parts of the SE (at least) may have to use standpipes next year. That would be interesting in 2023!

Edited August 23, 2022 by CreweCold

[danm]

19 hours ago, Nick L said:

After checking through the cumulative radar for August as well as a few local stations just SE of London, we are definitely drier. Roughly a line from Aylesbury to west Norfolk have missed absolutely everything pretty much. 2.4mm here for the month. Really is remarkable...

The rainfall in the area I’ve circled in red is almost entirely from that intense downpour we had on Wednesday that caused flash flooding. Other than that we’ve had almost nothing since early June.

Edited August 23, 2022 by danm

[richie3846]

6 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

YEa it's that hurdle bit that I don't get. I mean I've been filling my watering can ... from the the hose ... and using that before ... Still a hurdle?

My neighbour has been doing the same! And using it for his watering can. Pond is ok if you have fish. If not then no. Not filled ours up

The rules clearly state watering with a can is ok, and tbh people should be seeking ways to save water, not circumvent the law in clever and cunning ways. This reminds me covid where there were a minority who were intent on stretching the law instead of doing what was deemed to be the socially responsible thing at the time!

[richie3846]

6 hours ago, CreweCold said:

Read that there is genuinely concern within the industry that if there is not a lot of rainfall this winter, parts of the SE (at least) may have to use standpipes next year. That would be interesting in 2023!

This has been underplayed for years IMO, I've felt that climate change hasn't been seen as a big enough threat, but the science is simple - dry soils and longer growing season, means less groundwater recharge, and less baseflow for rivers, if the rainfall remains the same as the past. The recharge season is quite short as it is, usually between about November and February, March if wet. Dry soils going into the autumn will inevitably cut that short, as will warmer drier springs. In my eyes it's all adding up to a big crisis that we may hit during the next longer period of dry years, be it this one that's started, or one in the future. 

[Nick L]

2 minutes ago, richie3846 said:

This has been underplayed for years IMO, I've felt that climate change hasn't been seen as a big enough threat, but the science is simple - dry soils and longer growing season, means less groundwater recharge, and less baseflow for rivers, if the rainfall remains the same as the past. The recharge season is quite short as it is, usually between about November and February, March if wet. Dry soils going into the autumn will inevitably cut that short, as will warmer drier springs. In my eyes it's all adding up to a big crisis that we may hit during the next longer period of dry years, be it this one that's started, or one in the future. 

It's time that water companies put money in pockets and got investing in desalination plants.

[richie3846]

1 minute ago, Nick L said:

It's time that water companies put money in pockets and got investing in desalination plants.

Realistically, there will need to be investment on a national level for this with government backing. We're talking major infrastructure here which will take too long of it isn't part funded by the tax payer. I personally don't see any chance of major investment like this until a crisis or two starts the wheels in motion. More pipelines to shift water about too,that would help a lot. 

[RJBingham]

Anglian water seem to be doing OK.

Monitoring water resources | Anglian Water Services

WWW.ANGLIANWATER.CO.UK

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Our reservoir levels, river levels and Groundwater levels in our region.

 

[richie3846]

7 minutes ago, Nick L said:

It's time that water companies put money in pockets and got investing in desalination plants.

I've just had a glance at Thames water profit last year. £244 million. It's not like there's loads of spare cash to invest on huge infrastructure, on top of what they are already doing.

[Nick L]

5 minutes ago, RJBingham said:

Anglian water seem to be doing OK.

Monitoring water resources | Anglian Water Services

WWW.ANGLIANWATER.CO.UK

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Our reservoir levels, river levels and Groundwater levels in our region.

 

Yep, thanking my lucky stars that we're *just* within the Anglian Water area! Literally a mile down the road is covered by Thames Water who are now under a hosepipe ban. Oddly, our sewerage is dealt with by Thames Water.

It is funny that the driest region in the country isn't bringing in restrictions. Probably to do with the fact they're used to having to conserve water far more than the likes of Wales.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Nick L

[richie3846]

4 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Yep, thanking my lucky stars that we're *just* within the Anglian Water area! Literally a mile down the road is covered by Thames Water who are now under a hosepipe ban. Oddly, our sewerage is dealt with by Thames Water.

It is funny that the driest region in the country isn't bringing in restrictions. Probably to do with the fact they're used to having to conserve water far more than the likes of Wales.

Each region has different factors. Rock type is one of them, for example in the upper Thames are more drought prone because the Oolite aquifer drains fast. How and when rain falls and how much, also big factors in how droughts affect regions differently.