Drought

"Droughts are natural events, caused by insufficient rainfall placing stress on water resources and the environment. We are responsible for monitoring, reporting and where possible mitigating, the impact of drought on the environment."
(Environment Agency)

The Environment Agency's role is to protect the environment by minimising the impact of drought, while making sure that there is enough water for people. They make sure that water companies have effective plans in place to maintain public water supplies during a drought, without damaging the environment.

The Water Act 2003 has made it a statutory requirement for water companies to prepare, maintain and publish drought plans. Following a consultation on the water company drought plan regulations issued in December 2004, the Drought Plan Regulations 2005 were laid before Parliament and National Assembly for Wales in July 2005 and came into force from 1 October 2005.

For more information concerning these plans see the following: DEFRA - Drought Plans

Some Tips to Help Save Water

In the Home:

Vegetables and fruit should be washed in a bowl rather than under a running tap and the leftover water can be used for watering house plants.
Try not to leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, shave or wash your hands, as this can waste up to 5 litres of water per minute.
Old toilet cisterns can use as much as 9 litres of clean water every flush. Reduce this by placing a ‘save-a-flush’ or ‘hippo’ in the cistern.
Dripping taps can waste up to 4 litres of water a day. Replace worn tap washers for a quick and cheap way of saving water.

For more tips see the Environment Agency website 'Saving Water in the Home'

In the Garden:

Collect rainwater in water-butts and use a watering can instead of a hose. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle to control the flow.
Regularly weed and hoe your garden, toensure that watering helps plants and not weeds.
Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain.
Garden sprinklers can use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a day. If you use a sprinkler, many water companies require you to have a water meter fitted.

For more tips see the Environment Agency website 'Saving Water in the Garden'

At Work:

If you are a manufacturing industry then water bills could be costing your company over 1% of business turnover.

If you are in the retail, hospitality or service sector you could save up to 50% of your water bill. Even if your water use is only for the offices you occupy, there are ways to save water with pay back periods measured in months!

For guidance in reducing the amount of water used at work, see the Environment Agency website
Saving Water

For More Information