Hosepipe ban on cards?
May and June’s hot temperatures and driest winter for two decades mean gardens are parched
With most parts of the UK experiencing the warmest spring on record, and June temperatures soaring to the hottest for 40 years, water shortages and hosepipe bans seem increasingly likely for certain areas of the UK this summer.
Many gardens are turning to a crisp following the driest winter for two decades in 2016/17 and unseasonably warm temperatures during May and June.
Long-term weather forecasts by the Met Office are predicting above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall for the coming months and, although there are presently no watersupply issues, the Environment Agency reports that some rivers and reservoirs are at belowaverage levels for this time of year.
A full-scale hosepipe ban remains unlikely – it’s usually enforced only after two consecutive dry winters, and in December 2015 the country experienced record rainfall and widespread flooding, with river levels reaching record highs.
Affinity Water, which supplies more than 3.6 million homes in the south east, advises gardeners to choose drought-resistant bedding plants such as alyssum, geraniums, French and African marigolds and petunias, or perennials such as aquilegia, campanula or heuchera.
It also points out that an average roof collects about 85,000 litres of rain in a year so the installation of a water butt can make huge savings and take away the need for hosepipes.