Water again.

It might be raining at the moment maddyone, but that doesn’t alter the fact that reservoirs are still extremely low after the prolonged drought, and unless they fill up a heck of a lot this winter, there will be more shortages next summer.

That’s why 2 new reservoirs are being planned in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to try and meet the ever growing demand for water, a very precious commodity.

(I am not making excuses for water companies and mending leaks, but we still all need to do what we can).

Mokryna
I lived on a boat for 20 years. So every drop of water had to be replaced by us with a hose. I’ve never stopped collecting cold run off 😄
Fortunately our toilet was a sea toilet 😄

I saw a news report that the reservoirs are almost full again, and that was before the deluge we’ve been having these last few days. Of course it’s correct that the leaks need to be repaired, but there is plenty of water and no need to ration it.

Maddyone, the reservoirs may be full, but the ground water resources aren't. Here is a useful link, with maps, issued by Thames Water in September which explains where our water comes from and the situation in the Thames Water region www.thameswater.co.uk/about-us/performance/reservoir-levels-and-rainfall-figures

Britain gets about a third of its water from ground water resources, but in areas like that of Southern Water, more than 70% of their water comes from underground, not reservoirs. A more detailed descroption of our water resources is given at nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/content/uk-groundwater-level-data On the first page of this link on the right hand side, you will see a lanel headed NEWS. Click on the first item on the panel 'Hydrological Summary for October 2022, published yesterday. Page down it and you will see a map that shows that most rivers in this country still have below average flows.

People are saying they don’t need to be careful with water because where they are, it’s raining, the reservoir it full etc.. It isn’t a case of rationing water but more that water treatment costs energy, unless you have your own supply, taking care is for the common good for everyone.
Surely, if everyone were on mètres, the water companies would have to sort themselves out, as the difference between what is being pumped out and that being metered would be blatant.

Sorry MOnia too have posted a repeat, I am too slow.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202211/medium-26361-758ca7d6-1b23-47b6-9670-6a9935e1b0be.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202211/medium-632141-591d3e0b-55bd-45bb-bfcd-422d57618450.jpeg

This was Ladybower in the Peak District in November 2018 after one of the driest summers on record. The tree line on the left is where I would normally fish from when the res is full. Adjacent Derwent and Howden were similarly depleted. The following April, it miraculously looked like picture 2! It’s total capacity is 6,300,000,000 gallons. Takes a lot to fill it!

Ah, one of my favourite places, Greyduster.

They were awfully low in the dry summer, I think a visit is in order to check the levels.

After the 1976 drought there was a lot of discussion about aquifers being depleted.

I haven't heard aquifers mentioned at all recently.

This gives the latest reservoir levels for where we live, still nowhere near 100%.
www.southernwater.co.uk/

Callistemon I am surprised you haven't heard about aquifers and ground water discussed recently. They are discussed - as the links above indicate.

I hadn't heard anything on TV news, M0nica

Will take a look at the links, thank you for them.

Ours are filling up very rapidly - this is last moth, since when it’s hardly stopped raining.

I saw this Casdon which was a report 3 weeks ago:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63396596

The reservoirs near us 13.12.22

13.11.23 no auto correct on numbers!

Mollygo I agree with trying not to waste water and have had a meter for years. ( Interestingly all the new social housing tenants - at least here, have a water meter)
With regard to showers though, surely it all depends how dirty you are are or (feel you are)
I personally don’t shower every day now, I don’t think it’s necessary, but when I do I make it a good one- sometimes I wash my hair as well and that can take at least ten minutes maybe twelve even!
For some I imagine, balance and mobility issues mean they cannot rush the process but also don’t want to get cold which happens if the shower is switched off between applying hair conditioner say or shaving mouses.
If being clean and having clean clothes/ bedding / linen is your creature comfort on an everyday basis and you’ve paid for the machine and the electricity/gas and the water then I see no need for these arbitrary “rules”.

Granmarderby it’s a very good point about getting cold if you turn the shower off. Ours would then take time to warm up again if we turned it off.
We have a water meter now. The enormous difference between our previous bill pm and the new direct debit was nearly 75%. It’s not even as if we have a big house.

It is all very well saying the reservoirs are full, but, especially in the south of England, what is far more important is that ground water reserves are back to normal levels - and they are a long way from full. This why the hosepipe ban remains, as a reminder nad symbol, that there is more to water supply than simply reservoirs.

I've just changed over to a metered bill and have become far more aware of using water wisely. It really annoys me that so much is lost, especially the vast amount of rain water going straight down the drain (once the water butt is full). So much of the treated, drinking quality supply is 'wasted' on toilet flushing etc. - when that rain water would do!

mokryna

NotAGran55

According to Which? dishwashers are more water efficient than hand washing.

www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-research-reveals-how-little-water-dishwashers-use-compared-to-hand-washing-aUDng9Y2iK8E

Surely this depends on how you hand wash your dishes. A bowl for the soap wash and another bowl for the rinse. Not the running tap which seems to be the fashion with some.

Average washing up bowl is 8-10 litres, so two bowls 16-20 litres. Averge dishwasher use 12 litres.

And I could not get through a full dishwasher load in the sink without changing the water at least once.

Callistemon21

I saw this Casdon which was a report 3 weeks ago:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63396596

I think it’s improved since then because it doesn’t seem to have stopped raining, November has been the wettest I can ever remember in mid Wales. I’ll have a look at the charts for November when they are produced, my guess is our reservoirs will be even fuller by then - which is good news for Wales, Birmingham, Liverpool etc., but I know not much help to Eastern/southern England. We’re lucky not to need to rely on ground water, as we have lots of reservoirs.

hetty I think we would all like to use rainwater for loos etc, but the big problem is where do we store it and how do we make sure we have enough to last a year?

It would take a very large hole in the garden filled by a very large tank to meet the need, and how many homes have such a garden?

My main concern is already transport of water from the water butt to the toilet.
For the downstairs loo-possible, but upstairs?
Water is incredibly heavy and toting a bucket full upstairs and decanting it would be difficult for many posters-although toting half buckets several times would be a good way of keeping fit.

M0nica, I'm thinking it's quite an easy DIY to provide some (not all) rainwater input to the downstairs loo. I'd be storing it above ground level, though. I'd need an additional downpipe in the right place, a cement block platform (just in case) large wall water butt, pipe to cistern, filter and mains top up - something like this:
www.freeflush.co.uk/pages/gravity-fed-rainwater-harvesting-system-for-flushing-toilets