It is for many people an odd conundrum that during such a period of unremittingly-wet weather, there should be a hosepipe ban in place for much of the UK, especially in the South East. And on the surface, it does appear to be a ridiculous situation. However, the problem with rainfall at this time of year is that a large proportion of it is evaporated very quickly, intercepted by foliage or drawn up by the roots of growing plants long before it ever reaches the groundwater stores from which we draw our water supplies and which feed the rivers that we also extract a great deal from. The only consolation for the water companies at the moment is that people are not watering their gardens, which is reducing demand at this time of year, but which will only temporarily obscure the fact that we are using water in the South East at a rate which is unsustainable in the long term...and plans to build thousands more houses will only make the situation worse. I love rain....particularly a good thunderstorm which I can watch and listen to from a smugly-dry location.....but it goes without saying that I too wish it would stop raining - I have walks and picnics and BBQs to plan......
No comments:
Post a Comment