Drought In SE England Intensifies; Springs Drying Up, Farmers Readying Backup Crop Plans

[hatrack]

On the River Kennet in Berkshire conservationists are resorting to stunning fish using electric probes and rescuing them from the dwindling trickle of water. Farmers across East Anglia are considering ditching entire crops while at nature reserves springs have dried up, leaving creatures from water voles to marsh harriers struggling to find food.

It might sound like a picture from the height of a dry summer but this was the reality across a swathe of England in late winter yesterday after 18 months of cripplingly low rainfall which has left some groundwater and river levels lower already than they were during the drought of 1976.

Water companies, normally reluctant to admit the likelihood of shortages which have drawn criticism of their record on leakages, are warning of potential restrictions in the coming months. Thames Water, which supplies 14 million homes and businesses, said it is not a matter of if there will be a drought but "when and how bad".

Experts believe that anything short of a deluge of biblical proportions to replenish aquifers across an area stretching from Lincoln to Birmingham and down to Portsmouth will make hosepipe bans and irrigation restrictions inevitable. Up to 18 million homes and businesses could be affected by April.

EDIT

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/water-water-nowhere-7237428.html

[orwell]

1. That's okay...

...St. Rick has assured us that we have dominion over the earth.

St. Rick and his minions will just pray the drought away...