Country mouse on drought
It’s time we rethought how we deal with our water situation, says Mark, since it never rains here but it pours


Few can be surprised that the horse trials at Badminton have been cancelled. In what has been one of the wettest Aprils on record, the never-ending torrent of rain has made the course unsafe and the event unworkable.
The county-cricket season has been badly hit, too, with many matches completely washed out. At home, dead frogs litter the road, and ducks are to be found swimming in newly created ponds. It has been miserable for almost everyone except gardeners and farmers. And yet, we still have a hosepipe ban.
In most other countries, the recent vast amount of rain would have been captured in reservoirs, but in Britain we seem all too happy to let most of it wash out to sea. We are constantly being told that, after two years of dry weather, the groundwater levels are so low that the hosepipe ban must stay.
But is ground-water something we should rely on for the majority of our water in this period of changing climate? Is it time to restrict the use of private boreholes and build new reservoirs to save the water? If Britain is going to have a climate where it never rains until it pours, we're going to have to think differently.
to Country Life and save £40%
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
380 acres and 90 bedrooms on the £25m private island being sold by one of Britain's top music producers
Stormzy, Rihanna and the Rolling Stones are just a part of the story at Osea Island, a dot on the map in the seas off Essex.
By Lotte Brundle
-
'A delicious chance to step back in time and bask in the best of Britain': An insider's guide to The Season
Here's how to navigate this summer's top events in style, from those who know best.
By Madeleine Silver