Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Continuing Drought forces watering ban expansion to 20
million Britons
by Staff Writers
London (AFP) April 5, 2012
Around 20 million Britons were banned on Thursday from using
garden hoses, after one of the driest two-year periods on record.
Seven water companies in southern and eastern England, covering
around 20 million people, have imposed restrictions banning people
from using hoses for gardening or cleaning.
People who ignore the ban face a £1,000 ($1,600, 1,200 euro) fine
as suppliers battle to top up depleting reservoirs.
"It's impossible to say how long the hosepipe ban may last," Paul
Kent, asset strategy manager for Southern Water, told AFP from the
side of the half-full Bewl Reservoir in Kent, southeast England.
"It's unlikely we will be lifting the ban this summer," he added,
the concrete walls of the vast reservoir clearly visible behind
him.
"The level is at about 50 percent -- normally at this time of the
year we expect it to be at 90 percent."
The fountains in Trafalgar Square, one of London's busiest tourist
spots, are set to dry up in less than a week as the hosepipe ban
also prevents the replenishing of ponds and fountains.
The square, which houses Nelson's Column and the National Gallery,
is expected to be a key venue for the Olympic Games this summer as
well as diamond jubilee celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II's
60 years on the throne.
"The fountains are currently being used for one hour a day at a
low plume using an existing store of water that is expected to
last for about a week," said a spokesman for the Greater London
Authority.
"We are working with Thames Water on finding a sustainable supply
of water that will allow the Trafalgar Square fountains to be used
throughout a summer of celebrations," he added.
England and Wales had just 38 percent of the long-term average
rainfall in March and, despite recent rain, the southeast of
England and Yorkshire in the north are officially in a state of
drought.
Dan Burdett, a farmer in West Sussex in southeast England, told
AFP the dry weather had forced him to change some of his crops and
threatened his livestock's food supply.
"If it continues to be this dry then the grass will stop growing
at some point during the summer we will struggle to feed the
cows," he said, standing in the middle of a field of chicory
planted because of its deep roots.