[Nigel Bolton]

Not sure if this is an effect of drought, but it might be.

Recently, I have noticed a very sharp increase of dead badgers on the road. Normally I see one every so often, mainly on the hard shoulder of the M5, but during the past week or so, I have seen many dead badgers, even on minor roads and country lanes. On my last journey to work, I counted six lying near the kerb, all adult, in a ten mile stretch of relatively minor road. The Council clear the carcasses off the road, as they are a sig risk to traffic, but more dead keep appearing.

I am wondering if the very dry conditions are forcing worms deeper into the soil, such that many badgers have not enough to eat. They are thus weakened and are therefore more at risk of being struck by vehicles whilst crossing a road.

Back in the very dry Spring of 2007, it has been suggested that most of the newborn that year were killed off by the dry, as there was not enough badger food available. I know that the wildlife expert, Johnny Kingdom, who lives this way, who was watching for young badgers back during that particular Spring noted that despite several setts in his vicinity, he did not see any young that year, and concluded that the dry had forced badger food deeper into the ground, thus depriving them of food.

Has anyone else noticed a notable increase in badger road-kill???

N.

[scrapemedic]

Does anyone know the difinitive answer to this question. I know that the hosepipe ban will come into force around here soon, but does that also include drip systems? There is some confusion, Thames water where my mum is says drips are alright, but Veiola round here make no mention of it.

This is the exemption from the banning order from Thames water:

Quote

v.drip or trickle irrigation watering systems, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld, that place water drip by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface, without any surface run off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist.

And this is what Veolia say

Quote

Customers may water their gardens:
- By hand, using a bucket or watering can.
- With greywater through a hosepipe.
- Using rainwater from a water butt by hand or through a hosepipe.

Looking at the legislation doesn't clear up the matter either, it says "hosepipe or similar systems".

[Nigel Bolton]

Low dew points and strong sunshine have caused sig drying of top of ground here today. Good job the wind was not strong.

My last water butt is almost empty.

N.

[scrapemedic]

Exposed areas of the allotment are dry to a significant depth, but areas in shady hollows are damper, but none of it could be described as wet.
Between the normal hand watering the allotment and enforced hand watering the garden, I will be hand shifting a heck of a lot of water this year.

I can't even get round it by not planting too much in the allotment like I did last year, I was told in no uncertain terms that if I didn't cultivate more of the allotment then it would be taken away from me. (Probably because thre are a lot of wannabe allotmeteers who would only take on the place for a year before deciding it was too much hard work!)

Every thing that has been in the ground for a while looks okay, presumably a good established root system is the key, but I moved a bramble and its certainly suffering. Going to have to keep an eye on that one. I want to move the strawberries (if its not too late) so that will have to be carefully watered in until they are established happily.

All I can see is a lot of work ahead. We need rain for sure.

[Howard Kirby]

My local river is extremely low now: Source EA.


River Teme at Leintwardine
Last updated 18:00 on 27/03/2012


Summary
The river level at Leintwardine is 0.39 metres.

This measurement was recorded at 18:00 on 27/03/2012.

The typical river level range for this location is between 0.32 metres and 1.40 metres.

The highest river level recorded at this location is 2.32 metres and the river level reached 2.32 metres on 21/07/2007.


Current level: 0.39m

Last 48 hours of available data

[scrapemedic]

River Pinn Upstream
The river level at Uxbridge is 0.02 metres.
This measurement was recorded at 15:30 on 27/03/2012.
The typical river level range for this location is between 0.04 metres and 0.70 metres.

River Pinn
The river level at Uxbridge, Philpots Bridge is 0.62 metres.
This measurement was recorded at 09:00 on 27/03/2012.
The typical river level range for this location is between 0.57 metres and 1.50 metres

Colne at iver
The river level at Iver, Clisbys Bridge is 0.25 metres.
This measurement was recorded at 09:00 on 27/03/2012.
The typical river level range for this location is between 0.27 metres and 0.70 metres


Frays
The river level at Uxbridge, Fountains Mill is 0.65 metres.
This measurement was recorded at 09:00 on 27/03/2012.
The typical river level range for this location is between 0.57 metres and 1.40 metres

[Nigel Bolton]

Most models still offering no sig rainfall for the next couple of weeks at least. High light levels are bringing rapid bud-burst.

One thing that is very worrying is the treat of building subsidence if the drought conditions persist. Many developers have built on flood plains during the past 20-30 years, and many of these areas are charactorised by clay regolith, that shrinks during very dry conditions.

May see the cost of home insurance premiums rise sharply this summer, at a time when the average house-holder is under intense financial squeeze.

N.

[HSEA2]

Theres a snow drought in Scotland...hardly any left
http://lance2.modaps....terra.721.500m

[skanky]

Parts of Yorkshire now looking affected: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17533235

[Peter H]

The current readout on my budget wireless temperature pressure kit. Some work on the algorithms required...but it's the nearest we're going to get to rain for some time....

[Nigel Bolton]

Wife and I took a trip to Tarr Steps on the River Barle yesterday. One thing that did surprise us was how dry the paths by the river were, despite the fact the Barle looked to be flowing reasonably healthily. I have not seen the paths this dry, even in the summer months. The streams that often tricle across the paths in places were either dry, or down to a trickle.

Also, along the river, were various pools, some chock full of tadpoles, that are likely to be dry in a couple of days, given sunshine, low RH and no a noticable breeze.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

and still......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17571709

N.

[Ian Williams]

Below is the rainfall anomaly from December to February, Devon and Cornwall (brown shade) is amongst the worse deficit

[Bazmundo]

That's it, you've had enough to drink - you're barred!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17615364

Quote

Hosepipe bans affecting about 20 million customers have been introduced by seven water authorities in parts of southern and eastern England.

People who flout the bans, which follow one of the driest two-year periods on record, face fines of up to £1,000.

Suppliers Thames, Southern, South East, Anglian, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East have all introduced "temporary use bans".

The government has urged householders to be "smarter about how we use water".

Using a hosepipe to water a garden, water plants, fill a pond or clean outdoor surfaces are all banned as are filling and maintaining ornamental fountains.

[Nigel Bolton]

Bazmundo, on 05 April 2012 - 09:28, said:

That's it, you've had enough to drink - you're barred!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17615364

This could start bringing out the worst in people.

Remember back during the last hosepipe ban back in the early 1990's. Some people opted to water under cover of darkness, and had sprinkers on lawns during the night. It was quite common to hear the swish of a sprinker or two coming from a back garden during the late evenings.

However, someone locally took matters into his own hands that year, by detatching the hoses from the sprinklers and inserting the end of the hosepipe through the letterbox of the perpetrators. Needless to say, some had a serious case of 'rising damp' for some time afterwards.

On a more humerous note, on the Ascot road in Bracknell is a pub called the 'Running Horse'. During that very same summer, the 'r' on Horse was removed.

N.

[P.K.]

Nigel Bolton, on 05 April 2012 - 20:04, said:

This could start bringing out the worst in people.

Remember back during the last hosepipe ban back in the early 1990's. Some people opted to water under cover of darkness, and had sprinkers on lawns

Wouldn't surprise me. I caught someone round here using their hose at 11pm or so one time in the 2006-2007 ban.

[Dave W]

Wow, Spain Sweden and Finland have been REALLY dry looking at that map above..

[Paul Domaille]

Getting pretty dry down here too. Haven't had to use the borehole yet for irrigation but it is getting close. Guernsey airport is in the process of getting a runway extension and they are moving thousands of tons of earth into a normally damp depression.I saw a fine dustnado form there today, probably about 30m diameter and 60-80m high, first decent one I've seen in Guernsey.
Cheers,
Paul D

[sherrie]

A friend of mine who lives in a village near to me has been getting her water from a natural well in her garden for the past 6 years, it was thought that the well would never dry up, it did last week....scary! She lives at the top of a very steep track and there are houses dotted along the track from her downwards,she is the first to have lost her water supply as she is at the top but if we dont get a large amount of rain soon every house along there will lose their water one by one.

[Nigel Bolton]

Light rain showers earlier this week yielded several tens of litres of water for my veg. I am hoping this will last until Monday. I am trying not to water frequently at the moment, as am trying to coax roots deep into the soil, so that reserves deep down can be tapped.

I did not use any tap water on the garden last year, other than washing up water. It will be interesting for me this year to see how far I can get through the summer without having to resort to 'purified and very expensive' water for the garden.

N.