Well officially 2012 was the second wettest year on record. And 2013 has so far shaped up to be an equally damp affair. However as the average UK household uses about 130,000 litres of water a year the free flowing hose pipes might not last for longﾅ
Two years since the dreaded hosepipe ban was last introduced by seven UK water companies, we should be considering the future and not taking the current downpours for granted.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency said:
"There is always a need to be careful with water. Although levels are high just now, if people use water efficiently at time when there is plenty, it can help at times when there is not so much rain."
Last April it was calculated that England needed approximately 15 inches of rainfall over the summer to replenish supplies. Shortly after the hosepipe ban was introduced, the heavens opened and the UK was subjected to storms, heavy rainfall and flooding. Believe it or not over the next few months a part of England & Wales was flooded every 5 days!
By the End of 2012, the UK had received more than 52 inches of rainfall to say this was unusual was an understatement.
The message we should heed from all these figures is not to take water for granted. It might seem like thereﾒs a lot of it sloshing about at the moment but this may not last long. A spokesman from Thames Water summed it up perfectly:
"While water use restrictions this year are highly unlikely, we would ask everyone to continue using water wisely, because we are never more than 18 months of very dry weather away from a drought."