Governments are unbelieviably stupid! Anyone with half a brain could have predicted this summers weather. If not this summer it would be next summer or/and the one after. No new reservoirs or supplies yet a population increase of 10% in recent years. The ‘drought committee’ met yesterday – a bit fucking late. reactive is poor management. Only Devon, Cornwall and London, Kent and Surrey seem to be OK. Much of the South-east gets its water from aquifers and are thus protected somewhat by vaguries in supply. Areas that rely on rivers or reservoirs are susceptable to changes in the weather.
Housing design should also take into account these changes in water supply. I have 3 water butts totalling 350ltrs. The largest and most used has now run dry – I wish I could channel bath/shower water into usable containers for the garden (and toilet flushes!). Hopefully my plants will survive the drought conditions as they mostly have deep roots and have become well established (and moderate the climate of my house and garden).
However it is not a case of just inconvenience – Southern Water took time from counting their wages and bonus’s to apply to take more water from one of Britains almost unique chalk streams famed for its biological diversity. Bastards.
Elsewhere – Switzerland is suffering from glacier melt and rockfalls affecting many villages – presumably the same is happening in Austria, France and other mountain regions. But do not worry – Reform deny climate change as do MAGA supporters in the USA and BP shareholders and the rest of the fossils