Some rivers are currently lower than the 1976 drought - springs have dried up in Ruscombe and Randwick - something that is not known in the lifetimes of people locally. Water flows are very low on the brook itself - local farmers that have contacted me are very concerned. How will cattle manage? Will this mean troughs will be needed in all fields? The Telegraph reported last week farmers already being affected by drought and the impact this will have on food prices - see here.
Severn Trent has been contacted - little joy apparently from them - although it really is an EA issue. It is the EA that has responsibility for water resources and they should
be the farmers’ first port of call. But again no replies.....Neil Carmichael has also been written to but no answers yet...
The odd thing about this drought is how patchy it is - some areas are near to average for this time of the year and in others well below what we would expect. Of course history is against us - when many of our water resources were developed the population was half what it is today and used half the volume of water per head we use today. Mix that difference in with nearly the last two years of dryer weather than usual and the water table will start to be affected. As climate change really takes hold these events will be more common......Anyway it is an issue that the Stroud Valleys Water Forum will I hope also raise with the EA.
See Daily Mail about drought in South East where Southern Water has already applied for a drought permit - it includes video: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103809/UK-drought-2012-Water-companies-say-mustnt-spend-FOUR-minutes-shower.html
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There is a fairly comprehensive summary of our Flood=Drought Cycle here : http://www.water21.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Flood__Drought_Water21_1.pdf
There are other factors of course. The really significant trend in UK rainfall over past few decades is big increases in North & West rather than small declines in South & East. This could be related to AGW; it is so marked that other factors, possibly terrestrial=ionic links. Other factors, simple over abstraction are involved, though this will not affect Ruscombe catchment.
Some believe the now rapid shift of the magnetic North Pole towards Siberia may be playing a role.
In any event - there is much we can and should be doing to resolve locally.
Very interested to read that report from water21
Just saw this
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/12/drought-spring-birds-beer-potatoes
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