Drought?

[K12beano]

Apparently the authorities have started moving fish....


...and it's looking the worst scenario since 1976 (who remembers that?)



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17054866

[nelly1]

Ah yes, maybe as bad as last years drought - six days wasn't it?

Another BBQ Summer on the way?

Followed by yet another 'How Useless Are The Met Office?' thread shortly afterwards...

[OzzyR1]

Can see how it might happen to be fair.

Had a rain shower in London on Monday afternoon and I realised that I haven't taken an umbrella to work for months now.

Can't remember the last time it rained hard tbh.

[crankedup]

The area of Essex is rated as arid and has been that for decades. 1976 was a lovely Summer, packed beaches and icecream sellers becoming millionaires, well almost. Drop a house brick in your toilet cistern to save water, old washing up water for flower bed or trees (not many had dishwashers then. Bath water only ankle deep please and of course no car washing or use of hose pipes. Stand pipes fitted into streets and Q's of people with buckets for their daily water needs, the water would be turned off after a certain time in the very worst affected areas. Most of the trees planted during the 'Plant a tree year' died in the drought, plant a tree for 73 was the catchy motto. Local Councils were asking residents that had a newly planted tree close by to use their waste water to give the tree a drink.
Following the drought Government pronounced that major investment into new reservoirs would prevent such a drought occurring in the future.
Happy days.

[thinfourth2]

Well up here we live next to a farmers field

This farmers field now has a population of ducks living in it who enjoy swimming around the field

What drought?

[Mr GrimNasty]

We're usually alight here, our water grows on trees, aqua-firs.

[jet_noise]

Dear K12b,

K12beano said:

snip


...and it's looking the worst scenario since 1976 (who remembers that?)
snip

Oh yes, summer '76 [wavey image effect]

end of 1st Uni year exams - failed
first "car" - '63 Moggie thou van
1st flat
living below 5 (count 'em) Domsci college girls
1st D.J. ing appearance

[/wavey image effect]

mmm, jumpers for goalposts,

regards,
Jet

[RedLeicester]

K12beano said:

Apparently the authorities have started moving fish....

Apparently the BBC have only just noticed.

Large chunks of Worcestershire and Herefordshire have been under drought conditions for the last couple of years - the water table is 3-4ft below where it should be, and the EA were removing fish from now non-existant rivers last year and the year before, and sitll haven't dared put them back, mainly as there's nothing to put them back in to.

[P-Jay]

I live in Wales, can't move for the stuff, in fact we've got some much we 'export' lots of it to the Midlands.

Drought? I wish, be nice not to return home after being out on my bike covered in Mud.

[The Black Flash]

I find this interesting. In the very early 90s (90/91 IIRC), my old man was a river balif. He had a report from whatever DEFRA was called back then, on the state of water resource. It predicted that there would not be enough water for the whole country by 2010, and talked of pipelines from Scotland to the south, and even towing icebergs down from the arctic.

But now it all comes as a big surprise to the powers that be and it's panic time...

[Bill Carr]

I live in northamptonshire, apparently one of the worst affected areas, and I can quite believe that we are suffering drought. It hasn't rained consistently for a long time and local ponds etc have long since died up. The ground is hard and has been since last spring.

[perdu]

The Black Flash said:

I find this interesting. In the very early 90s (90/91 IIRC), my old man was a river balif. He had a report from whatever DEFRA was called back then, on the state of water resource. It predicted that there would not be enough water for the whole country by 2010, and talked of pipelines from Scotland to the south, and even towing icebergs down from the arctic.

But now it all comes as a big surprise to the powers that be and it's panic time...

Not a surprise to anyone surely

But there are people in Scotland sayg "awa wi ye Sassenach heathens, we'll no be having oor glens flooded, the noo. It would damage the balance of nature and harm the grass!"

[deltaevo16]

North South divide, you southerners have all the, jobs and we northerners have all the water http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/4.gif

[perdu]

Us Brummies get ours from Welsh valley sources, thank God and Wales for that.

Not sure I would trust water boards to pipe water any very long distances, many Authorities are losing the blinking stuff by the gallon a minute (or litres if anyone is worrited about that metrical stuff)

I can see Scots Water managing to get as far south as Newcastle, expecting it to reach Essex is not so likely.

Kent? Dream on...

But we really are not managing the resources we have, after seeing half of Worcestershire near the Avon and Severn under water most rainy winters from the viewpoint of the M5, I feel there has to be a way to save/use the stuff instead of watching it slip turgidly down to the Brisstle Channel.

[z4me]

We don't need Scottish water thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielder_Water

[perdu]

z4me said:

We don't need Scottish water thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielder_Water

Me neither but it seems that East Angular and the Home Counties could use a few drops from time to time

I'm not sure we have any of ours to spare, our local reservoirs get a little dry too at times.

[furtive]

• RAWR* Allegro Estate

[wolves_wanderer]

Having seen some of the reservoirs around Birmingham yesterday I'd start saving water now if I lived there.

[Corsair7]

our local ponds are less than half full, and the rivers and streams that are supposed to fill them are bone dry.

In the middle of winter. Never known it like this. Only ever seen that once in the middle of summer.

Andover, Hampshire.


Also, not heard of any flooding problems across the country this last year.

[maniac0796]

Because South West Water extort a massive amount of water for the privelage of using their system, which they say is too pay for the EU demanding they maintain about a 1/3 of the country's coastline in pristine condition (which they do a good job to be fair), it turns out they've actually done some (and by some, I mean a fkload) other work which means essentially, water can be pumped from any resevoir to another in the south west.

Have fun with your drought.