[Growster...]

We're short of water down here already, and Bewl Water is getting pretty low.

So, we'll have a hosepipe ban come April, which doesn't really bother me at home, but down at the Plot and the Patch, we improvise.

A good friend provided everyone with one of those great big 250 gal containers with a huge tap, and that's now full. (Thanks to a neighbour and me getting a huge panel of corrugated tin to feed the blighter...)

Our bath is full, and on the Patch, we have another 5 x 40 gal containers brimming, plus a square roof tank. There's also a wandering 5 gal drum somewhere...

So fingers crossed...

(Forgot! Mrs G made up a 25 gal barrel of 6X liquid manure today, the old stuff had been there a year, and was becoming a national hazard...)

[totalnovice]

I have no idea on the volume of the two containers i have but i know that one is around 4ft high and 2ft round, another is about 3.5ft high and 1.5ft across and the last is approx 4ft long, 3ft high and 3ft wide.

Like i said, no clue re gallons/litres etc but i think it will last me a while yet - thankfully because the tap is a right trek from my plot!!! I always try to avoid using the hosepipe anyway - only because it takes so much hassle to get it out and then roll it all back in again!!! 

[carlrmj]

I've got two 80 gallon drums, and 5 bath tubs full.

There no hose pipe ban here yet but give it time.

[Growster...]

I have no idea on the volume of the two containers i have but i know that one is around 4ft high and 2ft round, another is about 3.5ft high and 1.5ft across and the last is approx 4ft long, 3ft high and 3ft wide.

Like i said, no clue re gallons/litres etc but i think it will last me a while yet - thankfully because the tap is a right trek from my plot!!! I always try to avoid using the hosepipe anyway - only because it takes so much hassle to get it out and then roll it all back in again!!!  

According to my twiddle on a spreadsheet Totes, when your tanks are full, you are the proud owner of about 340 gallons, or 1,550 litres (if you were born after a certain year...;0)

Agree about hoses too, they always twist at the furthest point...

[Growster...]

I've got two 80 gallon drums, and 5 bath tubs full.

There no hose pipe ban here yet but give it time.

5 Baths Carl!

Why, that's more than I have in a year! ;0)

Good thing about baths is that they're the best for plunging one's watering can in from a safe height...

Re hose bans though, don't you pick up on water from the Welsh Valleys in Rugby?

[trampyjoe]

I filled up my 100L butt yesterday whilst at the plot.

Mind you it was filled from a tank that has been donated to me by another plot holder (who unfortunately is giving his plot up). Said tank is approx. 800 - 1000L and is still over half full and I have until sunday night to move it but I don't really want to waste the water that is in it. Some close plot holders have already had a visit from the water fairy but pretty much everyone is full now.

[Growster...]

I filled up my 100L butt yesterday whilst at the plot.

Mind you it was filled from a tank that has been donated to me by another plot holder (who unfortunately is giving his plot up). Said tank is approx. 800 - 1000L and is still over half full and I have until sunday night to move it but I don't really want to waste the water that is in it. Some close plot holders have already had a visit from the water fairy but pretty much everyone is full now.

Interesting Trampy!

I think most tanks are pretty full at this time of year, and of course, even during a dry spring, it may just rain again once in a while...!

[grendel]

did anyone see the news last week where 4 old reservoirs had been taken over as a bird sanctuary, well surprisingly they were full, so is the lack of water in the reservoirs at the moment really lack of rainfall or are the water companies supplying more water than they actually have, seems to me with all the development going on that the problem is more water losses in the system and the amount they are being asked to supply rather than rainfall (or lack thereof).
looks like I wont be so lucky this year as they have fixed the leaky stopcock on my plot (main site stopcock) so my small stream has stopped, this now means I will be shifting water from about 100m away to my one water butt.
Grendel

[Growster...]

did anyone see the news last week where 4 old reservoirs had been taken over as a bird sanctuary, well surprisingly they were full, so is the lack of water in the reservoirs at the moment really lack of rainfall or are the water companies supplying more water than they actually have, seems to me with all the development going on that the problem is more water losses in the system and the amount they are being asked to supply rather than rainfall (or lack thereof).
looks like I wont be so lucky this year as they have fixed the leaky stopcock on my plot (main site stopcock) so my small stream has stopped, this now means I will be shifting water from about 100m away to my one water butt.
Grendel

Didn't they ever build the proposed one at Broad Oak then Grendel?

[grendel]

no, too much opposition to it, maybe some time in the future, who knows.
Grendel

[Schubunny]

did anyone see the news last week where 4 old reservoirs had been taken over as a bird sanctuary, well surprisingly they were full, so is the lack of water in the reservoirs at the moment really lack of rainfall or are the water companies supplying more water than they actually have, seems to me with all the development going on that the problem is more water losses in the system and the amount they are being asked to supply rather than rainfall (or lack thereof).
looks like I wont be so lucky this year as they have fixed the leaky stopcock on my plot (main site stopcock) so my small stream has stopped, this now means I will be shifting water from about 100m away to my one water butt.
Grendel

Well, based on the leak that was running down our road for a month I'd say it's the cold winter that has burst pipes and the water companies slackness to repair them.

[Yorkie]

I think the demand for water is ever increasing too.  Power showers take more litres of water.  People shower more often - when we grew up, we used flannels and a bath sometimes; now it's not unusual for people to shower twice a day.

Then there's power washers and dishwashers becoming increasingly widely used.  At least the washing / dishwasher machines are more efficient with the newest models.

Add to that the ever increasing number of houses / households, and you can see why water is a scarce resource in places - even before you consider the leakage rates (which have generally been reduced a lot over the last few years).

Harvesting one's own water is a really good idea.  However, it saddens me to see people working out how they can find ways to continue spending the precious resource from taps in contravention of the ban (general comment not directed at anyone in particular on this thread or otherwise).

[Mrs Bee]

I remember the heatwave and drought in the seventies and someone on the news explaining to everyone how to keep clean with a pint of water that they had in a milk bottle.

I also remember my poor infant class melting in the heat in an old Victorian building and getting them to strip down to their pants and getting them all cold drinks.

Teacher's wouldn't dare to that nowadays.

Also remembering constantly reminding kids to turn off taps after washing their hands even when there wasn't a drought.

[trampyjoe]

Thames water are apparently the worst water company for leaks .. 30% of the water they process and put into pipes is lost due to leaks. That to me is not really an acceptable figure, who knows how much other companies lose!

(incidentally, between 1991 and 2010 Thames water were in court and found (and pleaded) guilty of polluting the river Thames something like 90 times.)

[Growster...]

did anyone see the news last week where 4 old reservoirs had been taken over as a bird sanctuary, well surprisingly they were full, so is the lack of water in the reservoirs at the moment really lack of rainfall or are the water companies supplying more water than they actually have, seems to me with all the development going on that the problem is more water losses in the system and the amount they are being asked to supply rather than rainfall (or lack thereof).
looks like I wont be so lucky this year as they have fixed the leaky stopcock on my plot (main site stopcock) so my small stream has stopped, this now means I will be shifting water from about 100m away to my one water butt.
Grendel

Well, based on the leak that was running down our road for a month I'd say it's the cold winter that has burst pipes and the water companies slackness to repair them.

We had one of those here Schu. It was a puddle for a year, and the traffic continually splashed the white painted house next to it, much to the consternation of the owners.

It turned out that the council and the highways and the water company couldn't agree on who was responsible for the work...

Haven't we heard that one before!