After over 2 weeks without a drop of rain in the south of England it’s finally arrived. Heavy rainfall several weeks ago provided sufficient reserves to allow the plant-life to ‘spring’ into action and spew forth a myriad of colours and scents but after the unprecedented heat-wave of the last two weeks, former quagmires began to develop surface cracks!

If the last two weeks are a sign of things to come and the forecast ‘long hot summer’ is to become a reality, it’s time to buy those water butts and start collecting as much as possible.

Hosepipe/sprinkler bans may be inevitable again in parts of the south if this summer is hotter and longer than last year.

Southern Water have been monitoring reservoir levels on a regular basis and in mid March this year all of the reservoir levels in the Southern Water region were at 100%.

From the Southern Water Resource Update:

“The wet weather, the fantastic response from customers in reducing their water use, together with a series of drought-busting measures we have fast-tracked has helped us reach the situation where resources have moved into normal levels for this time of year.

Although the restriction has now been lifted, we appeal to our customers to continue to be aware of how much water a hosepipe and sprinkler can use.

A family of four uses in a day the same amount of water as a hosepipe in an hour, and although our resources are better this winter compared with last year, they are still at a low level.”

The last seven words are interesting because despite levels being ‘normal’ and reservoirs being at 100%, ‘resources are still at a low level’?

What does this mean?