[Dave K]

Had to happen really, didn't it

Quote

Parts of England no longer in drought after heavy rain

Drought status has been removed for South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, parts of Gloucestershire, parts of Hampshire, most of Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18032552

[skanky]

Not dry on Kinder any more.

[Halo]

Redefine concept of drought, Environment Agency urges

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-18150100

[Nigel Bolton]

Been to Tarr Steps today with the outlaws, my wife and little Patrick. Despite the area having 274mm of rain in April and more rain in early May, I was surprised how low the river level of the Barle had fallen, although there were still springs of water issuing from the hillsides and across the paths.

My garden has become dry again, and have virtually exhausted the water supply from the butts.

Not too much rain on the horizon for the next week or so, so it would seem.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

Interesting to see how the ground has now cracked this way. Such a change from cool and wet to very warm and dry, plus plant uptake has shrunk the soil quite significantly in places. It is pulling away from the foundations of my raised veg beds.

River Exe roughly at level preceding wet spell.

N.

[scrapemedic]

I am glad I am not the only one to notice that despite all the rain we had in May, it really has done little to alleviate the lack of rain we have had over the last two years. One week of hot dry weather and, whilst sitting in the window to look out for thunder, I realised from my vantage point how close to dry the grass was getting. It probably wasn't helped by the fact that they gave it a short back and sides yesterday, but it was looking decidely yellow.
And the plants in my garden at work were looking a bit droopy; whilst they should be putting on lots of new growth, they haven't been helped by a lack of sunshine/cold weather followed by a lack of rain. There really isn't a happy medium at the moment, though hopefully with the temps dropping over the next week, they shouldn't be losing so much water.

[Nigel Bolton]

Am having to water quite copiously at present. As well as being very warm, the air has often been dry (other than the day and night of mega dew points this time last week), and it has been windy at times too. I am using water from the tap, some thing I never did last year, as although rain was sparse, it fell frequently enough for me to catch enough to use until the next shower. This year, it was dry, dry, dry, and then we had a six week monsoon offering me far more water than I could store. Then the rain has since switched itself off once more, bcoming dry and very warm, which meant water stocks depleted rapidly.

With so much of my veg in seedling stage at present, I cannot 'not' water on a daily basis.

Hoping for a 'double bubble' this weekend; a good few hours of steady rain to wet the ground to reasonable depth, plus ability to catch enough of the rain to fill my butts for the drier periods.

N.

[Nigel Bolton]

The 'anti-drought' continues..........................

N.

[P.K.]

So the hosepipe ban is now being lifted for many people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18419163

[scrapemedic]

Not here yet I see. Hey ho..
In fairness, despite all the rain we have had the river levels have not even reached the top of their "typical range", yet alone even threatened to flood. The ground must be soaking it up somewhere up stream.

[Dave K]

Hosepipe ban will remain in place here too

Quote

Kent's other water suppliers, including South East, are still seriously worried about underground levels in aquifers, by far the largest resource in Kent.

It said that while recent rainfall boosted river and reservoir levels, it has had little impact on the region’s groundwater sources, many of which remain at “severe” levels.

South East Water said as these provide 75 per cent of all customers’ supplies it is not able to remove the hjosepipe ban.

Its asset director Paul Seeley said: “All water companies must stick to their drought management plans which are agreed with our regulators. Just as those companies who are now in a position to withdraw their restrictions will be following theirs, so must we comply with ours and retain them.

“We hope our customers understand why we are taking the action we are – these depleted reserves still need to see us through the summer, if it ever arrives, while we must also plan for the possibility of a third dry winter.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for the extraordinary efforts they have made so far, while reassuring them that we are prudently managing the water resources we do have and as soon as we are confident the groundwater sources have recovered we will remove the restrictions.”

And Veolia South East is also keeping its ban, because of underground worries. Mike Pocock, water resources manager said: “We will need prolonged and substantial rainfall over a longer period to recharge our aquifers and to move us out of a drought situation.”

[P.K.]

Indeed, yes the area with a hosepipe ban is now reduced a lot but us 3 are all still in it.

[Dave K]

They think it's all over...it isn't yet

Quote

South East aquifers refilling but hosepipe ban remains

South East Water said its restrictions on hosepipe use remained in force

A water company serving South East England has said underground sources are showing signs of recovery, but a hosepipe ban remains in force.

South East Water said heavy rain since the ban was imposed in April was now reaching crucial water reserves. The company said more shallow chalk aquifers were the first to respond, with water levels stabilising in some areas and rising in others.

But it said its 2.1 million customers should continue to use water wisely. Three quarters of the water it supplies to people in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire comes from underground sources.

The company was among seven suppliers to ban the use of hosepipes in response to one of the driest two-year periods on record. Since then, many areas have seen record rainfall. West Sussex and Hampshire suffered severe flooding earlier this month.

Anglian, Southern and Thames lifted their hosepipe bans on 13 June.

"It is good news that our vital underground sources are beginning to recover," said Lee Dance, South East Water head of resources and environment. "We are continually reviewing the need for restrictions, but in the meantime we are asking our customers to continue being sensible with their water use."

http://www.bbc.co.uk...ngland-18633389

[P.K.]

Water restrictions here have finally been lifted. Already had nearly as much as rain this month as you'd expect for the entire month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...ngland-18764953

[Howard Kirby]

And now that its September...the ground is starting to look like this. With only 5mm of rain locally this month:

[Andy Mayhew]

Aye, I was looking at the level of the Avon this morning - only 4cm higher than it was a year ago. Summer rain doesn't last long.

[John Mason]

Howard Kirby, on 15 September 2012 - 16:14, said:

And now that its September...the ground is starting to look like this. With only 5mm of rain locally this month:



2012-09-15 16.08.12.jpg

Have just brought in the winter firewood today - I had it cut and stacked last year but the ground has been too saturated to drive across my farmer friend's fields without cutting them up to hell even in low box. No such problems today and am stacked out fully. Let it snow! Have another good load to fetch and there's one hell of an oak down nearby to start cutting and stacking ready to season for 2013-14 winter and the one after that.

[Howard Kirby]

Yes talking of rivers:


Summary
The river level at Leintwardine is 0.43 metres.

This measurement was recorded at 09:00 on 15/09/2012.

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: 0.43m

Last 48 hours of available data

[Nigel Bolton]

Funnlity enough, just walked over the River Exe, and was surprised at how low and slow moving it was.

Welcome back DET. Need some dry to prepare the veggie plots for next year, though my ground is still pretty wet.

N.

[Dave K]

Much the same here too, the last 6 weeks rainfall has only been about 50% of the average. Despite the wet summer we need plenty of rain in autumn now.