Drought forecast

[steve2]

Just seen in the news that some of the Hertfordshire and Essex streams are drying up due to lack of rain. Down by over 50% this winter, drought already being forecast in some areas. One of my lakes is over 2ft down on what is normal for this time of year.
This is an area where they plan to build 1000’s more houses.

 

[103841]

Same here in Kent, the river Stour has been really low for many months now.

After a long hot summer large cracks appear in my lawn, it's only April and they have already appeared.

 

[binka]

This thread has prompted me to check on the Trent (and I've been behaving myself so far and staying off the site during the close season lol) and it's already at late summer levels.

Difficult to predict too far ahead, opening day last season saw it around eight feet up but it has been exceptionally dry up 'ere for the last six weeks or so.

 

[mikench]

No drought here but then there rarely is! It is amazing what difference the Pennines make to levels of rainfall!

 

[tigger]

No drought here but then there rarely is! It is amazing what difference the Pennines make to levels of rainfall!

Rain, snow and hailstones today and it was a white out going over the pennines to Sheffield!
Some patchy heavy rain and low temp's on the agenda this week. Next weeks supposed to be tench weather :w.

 

[thecrow]

Apparently there is a 2 mile stretch of the Colne that is already dry, there is a BBC London video but as usual I cant get the link to work I cant get the link to work.

 

[103841]

There was a piece on the BBC news a few days ago talking about how global warming will have an affect on our flora and fauna and also said the difference in the weather between the north and South of the UK will become even more noticeable.

 

[binka]

Still very dry up in the east midlands, I took the hound for a walk earlier and this was the scene at a local lake which relies on a feeder stream...

Not that everyone's complaining...

 

[floatfish]

Reminds me of the long hot dry summer of 76, water shortage, no car washing etc. Stand pipes in some areas. Minister of drought appointed by the Government. He did not even make it to his office before the heavens opened
and we had downpour after downpour followed by the usual flooding.

Best ministerial appointment for years for getting results.!!

 

[iain t]

Remember the Summer of 76 well. Hated the temperature and dryness in the air. Then when it did rain Mums manicured garden that she tried to keep going by watering it with dirty bathwater turn into a sinking mudhole.

Being classed as disabled for the last 6 years for some strange reason am still allowed to use a hosepipe when there is a ban on. No one has been able to tell me why yet

 

[binka]

I was seven years old during that drought of '76.

I vividly remember being hauled halfway across town by me mum during the school holidays to a park which had a huge concrete paddling pool, only to find it drained whilst the sprinklers were on full blast watering the bowling greens mg:

 

[chub_on_the_block]

Two memories from summer 1976 when i was 12 were: first the West Indies thrashing us in the Tests that year, culminating at a straw coloured Oval and second - my local pond at Cannon Hill Common in Merton partially drying up. There were lots of rotting dead bream (before the days of EA fish rescues i guess) and hundreds if not thousands of dead swan mussels in the baked cracked muds where the lake had dried completely. I never even knew the pond had bream or swan mussels in it - all i ever caught was stunted roach.

 

[cg74]

I went past the rivers Windrush and Evenlode yesterday. The Windrush looked a little lower than would be expected at this time of year but the Evenlode has all but disappeared!

As for my nearest river, the Cherwell, it looks remarkably healthy, with reasonable flow and a good level of clarity. But as the weather warms up barges on the adjacent Oxford canal will start moving and that'll divert a huge quantity of water through the canal.

 

[john step]

I was seven years old during that drought of '76.

I vividly remember being hauled halfway across town by me mum during the school holidays to a park which had a huge concrete paddling pool, only to find it drained whilst the sprinklers were on full blast watering the bowling greens mg:

That summer I was returning home from a shift as it was getting light.
Everyone was encouraged to bath together and domestic hosepipes were banned.

I saw red when driving past a cricket club which had obviously had been running a large bore hosepipe for hours.

Apparently they were not domestic so supposedly allowed to squander water whilst everyone else suffered.

I couldn't find where to turn the pipe off SO IT GAVE ME GREAT SATISFACTION TO TIE THE RUDDY PIPE IN DOZENS OFF KNOTS TO STOP IT

 

[lambert1]

I was 16 then and taking O levels. We had an outdoor pool in the town where I lived then and every day my revision books went with me and every day they stayed in my bag. I ended up having to repeat my 5th year (as did my two mates). I remember my mates Dad picking us up from fishing and giving us a rollicking on behalf of all the parents. I still remember him pointing out that six O levels between the three of us (two each) was a little on the poor side We also went on a school trip to Amsterdam but that is another story Was a great summer though

 

[no-one in particular]

I remember that summer, I was working in a sea front pub and people kept coming in and ordering lemonade and orange squashes, we run out several times. One day a 6ft+ Scottish bloke walked in and asked for twoo sqcaaashes jimmy. I said pardon and he said again twoo sqcaashes Jimmy. So I gave him two orange squashes with straws and an umbrella and he said "are you taking the ****" and threatened to fill me in, he was asking for two scotches apparently.... whoopsy daisy....

I looked at two rivers yesterday and they were fine but they have sluice gates that hold the water in. I was more interested in the creek the other side which was at low tide and just a small trickle of water, it fills up twice a day to 10/15ft of water. I have yet to catch a fish in it but I did lose one last time I went; probably an eel- but i will give it a few more goes. The rivers looked very green, algae bloom, we call it May water and it appears in the sea as well which seems to put fish right off especially when it dies and smells like rotten eggs.
Plenty of rain yesterday so the gardens revived thankfully.

 

[geoffmaynard]

"Being classed as disabled for the last 6 years for some strange reason am still allowed to use a hosepipe when there is a ban on. No one has been able to tell me why yet"

It's what they call Political Correctness and Virtue Signalling. The politicians who support this kind of thing (virtually all of them) don't give a stuff either about you, your disability nor the environment but will use all those factors if they think it might increase their vote at the next election. If the lakes and rivers dry up, that's small beer to who wins the election...

 

[thecrow]

"Being classed as disabled for the last 6 years for some strange reason am still allowed to use a hosepipe when there is a ban on. No one has been able to tell me why yet"

It's what they call Political Correctness and Virtue Signalling. The politicians who support this kind of thing (virtually all of them) don't give a stuff either about you, your disability nor the environment but will use all those factors if they think it might increase their vote at the next election. If the lakes and rivers dry up, that's small beer to who wins the election...

Political Correctness and Virtue Signalling that doesn't extend to taking life changing aids away from anglers and none anglers alike, " but look you can use a hose pipe" doesn't really cut it for me, Mps whether current or past all imo don't care about the watery environment just votes and what can catch them.