The hosepipe ban

And how, exactly, do you think they could get the water down to the south Anagram?

Victorian canals

A National water grid?

Or:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17078727

As is partly evident from this article it is not practical. There have been several attempts to do the hydraulic modelling and they have all come to naught. That map was constructed in the 1970s, in the pre privatisation, isn't that a pie up there in the sky, era. (even engineers have dreams)
There are hills in the way. There is no handy downhill sloping route from Cumbria to the Thames basin. Even if there was, it would be covered in cities, factories, roads etc.
Even if it was feasible it would be a vast expense. Would make HS2 look like peanuts. The government isn't going to shell out (not their problem - its been privatised) and who would pay - the water company that is maybe going to sell its water to another water company? (they could not afford to borrow the many billions required with no return on investment for a long long time) or Thames water, at the other end of the pipe? Ultimately it would push someone's water bills sky high. And take a decade or two to accomplish - planning permission alone would be mind boggling.
So you have a daft idea being aired (yet again) just to create a news article.

Oh, well, I stand corrected, JessM!

Yet again, someone's opinion has been shot down by a more 'informed' member of GN.

Hello, good morning folks.

Talk about water yesterday - I was in Oxford helping my daughter shop (and that may be a whole other hospital story today as she has hurt her back...)

...and we ran into an absolute downpour of a thinderstorm...had to wait in the car while it went off. It really threw it down. Went home, and half way realised the road was dry...my garden still dry as a bone. Grrr! ...........So I STILL had to water!

Hope no offence anagram - but these ideas get thrown around by politicians (we're having a "drought summit" and we have to have a press release.) Despite the fact that the government no longer have control of the water industry. And the press pick it up and spread it around. It does not help anyone.
I worked for a water company for 8 years, just after privatisation and it was talked about as a dead duck then. Welsh W would have loved to sell water to the English if it had been feasible!
So the inverted commas are probably unjustified on this occasion.
The only thing that a government might do is to tackle the issue of extraction licences. These are licences to use untreated water from rivers and aquifers. When you see a farmer in east anglia spraying crops for hours on end they are not spraying treated water - they are just sucking it up having paid for a licence from the environment agency. No incentive not to do it, even in a drought.
There would have to be a major piece of legislation to unpick this arrangement. Not sure how feasible this would be - and there would be an uproar from farmers and some industries.

The inverted commas weren't meant to imply that you weren't actually knowledgeable, JessM - I wouldn't cast such an aspersion.

What you say is undoubtedly true; I just felt that this thread had been been quite light-hearted but was in danger of being turned into another debating point.

For cleaning the car, drought or not, I use "Showroom Shine" by Greased Lightening. It needs no water at all however dusty or dirty the vehicle. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to clean the car with 2 microfibre cloths and absolutely no elbow grease. If you buy from the following website make sure you choose the bogof option. It really is as good as the video shows.
www.idealworld.tv/BOGOF_Greased_Lightning_Showroom_Shine_1_Litre_171785.aspx?fh_location=//idealworld/en_GB/$s=showroon%20shine

Funny OH has just ordered some of that stuff shysal, I totally poopoo'd it as a load of junk but maybe I'll be proved wrong and he won't of wasted his money..
If its that simple he can prove it by cleaning my car as well as his own...lol

So far no hosepipe ban here but I am very aware that we could still be threatened despite the recent rainfall. I water my pots only as they have no other way of getting water. Also a quick hose over my small garden but the lawn I'm afraid is on it's own. My neighbour used to put her water sprinkler on for hours - she'd forget about it and even go shopping with it watering for hours at a time. In the end I'm afraid I took matters into my own hands and turned it off. She didn't mind and this year has taken it to heart that it would be very inconsiderate to use a sprinkler at all. I remember the 1976 drought well. Our washing machine used to empty into the sink so we collected the rinse water for the garden. I'd lived in the Far East at a child where we were rationed in the summer to water from 7am to 9am and from 6pm to 8pm. We had 2 bathrooms and we'd fill those for use whilst the water was off.

We have a ban but the heavens open last night which was good for our water butts and few flowers. Then I heard on the news about a road closure due to a water main burst grrrrrr

It is raining very gently here - but I wish I had some of the rain from Oxford yesterday!

In Australia, Adelaide, the "driest state in the driest continent" we have had to get used to water restrictions,what we do use is expensive too. With improved conditions we could use sprinklers for the first time in many years, I used to be sad my grandkids didn't get to experience a cooling run through the sprinkler on the lawn on hot evenings. We save where we can, shower with a bucket, offload washing machine water, have 3 min max showers, not wash cars, keep a bucket in the kitchen for rinse water from vegies, use water vegies have boiled in, anything to keep things going. Alas, much dies and people lose heart at starting again, missing out on hobby and exercise of the garden.

This really puts our "drought" into perspective marti as everything very green and lush here - and the temperature is very temperate and rarely uncomfortably hot.

I am glad you are so well informed, Jess - I found your explanation most interesting.

Thank you Greatnan - I think it is most unhelpful of the media (and government) to trail these red herrings in the interest of a story. Big distraction from the possibility that some southern areas could be on much more stringent drought restrictions if we have low rainfall in the SE this summer.
Here is a link about the state of affairs that prevailed in N Ireland in Dec. 2010.
It goes against the grain - but this illustrates why water privatisation in mainland UK was a good decision! And how much better the network is managed here.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12082535

And here's another:
news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/1/newsid_2492000/2492981.stm

dorsetpennt mentioned 1976 so, just as an aside, I thought I'd tell you what I was doing for most of that year. Working for a water authority, measuring water levels in various places for the end of a 5 year study. I began work on April 1st!

Both new 1000 litre containers are installed, and the link + pump between all 3 is now working - so we are all set here.

Nobody has picked up on the car washing thing - do cars really have to be washed in a drought? I only wash mine about twice a year, whether is needs it or not. In fact I can't remember when I last washed it. Who cares?

A bit like Queen Elizabeth 1st? Mine only gets washed when I can persuade a grandson to do it....

Thought I might remind people of the bit about using up the cold water that comes first from the hot tap, too.

Talking about car washing, valet services with high pressure hoses seem to be popping up all over the place around our way. I can think of 4 places I've visited in the last few days each had a car wash which was being well used. And we're in a hosepipe ban area where we're invited to snitch on our neighbours! The reason given is that it would affect someone's livelihood to stop this service, so surprise surprise it seems that new such businesses are starting up. You can't knock enterprise! - or can you?

Don't some "proper" car washes filter their water and recycle it?
But high pressure hose ones where the water goes onto the ground presumably not in this category. Many businesses use large amounts of water and they should be on a commercial meter.
They do say dorset that it is better to do focussed watering - pouring/hosing the water at the roots and giving them a soaking (not too often) rather than just a general spray around - is more helpful to plants and encourages them to put their roots down deeper. Spraying across the surface of soil will only damp the top layer and evaporate quickly.
I guess one thing we can think about at this time of year is to limit the number of pots we have to worry about.

No watering, whee!

The rain has nicely watered my trench for runners - must get them in quickly...

Yes it may have rained on a few parades but it has certainly given the gardens a proper watering.