Don’t Get Caught High and Dry this Summer – Harvest Rain Now and Water your Garden all Year

It’s official, the summer of 2022 was one of the hottest and driest since records began.

In fact, according to the Met Office, along with the summer of 2018, it was the joint hottest… ever. But, it wasn’t just the heat that caused problems. It was also unusually dry. In 2022, only 62% of the average summer rain fell while there was 115% of average sunshine. It was also the first year that saw a recorded maximum temperature in excess of 40C – truly scorching by any scale.

Met Office Review of UK's 2022 weather

We love sunshine but sustained hot and dry weather isn’t always a bed of roses…

While it’s true that many of us enjoyed those long, summer days, it wasn’t quite the same for gardeners… or gardens for that matter.

Hose Pipe Bans

During the summer of 2022, reservoir levels fell to record lows prompting many regional water authorities to introduce hosepipe bans. Domestic customers in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Sussex, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cornwall, Devon, Greater London, The Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucester, Wiltshire, the Isle of Man, South West, Central London and Yorkshire were all subject to the bans, with other water authorities closely monitoring the situation and braced to introduce restrictions.

Other water authorities such as Northumbrian Water, while stopping short of a ban, offered guidelines to customers about saving water in an attempt to avoid imposing draconian restrictions. People were requested to stop using paddling pools, stop washing cars regularly and make efforts to reuse as much water as possible.

The Impact on Gardens

The bans were devastating for gardeners in the areas where strict regulations were imposed. Many saw much-loved and nurtured plants and lawns simply dry up and wither away. As well as being upsetting, that’s a big cost when it comes to replanting.

And the bans weren’t lifted as soon as the sun stopped shining and the rain eventually began to fall. Once reservoir levels drop below a certain point, it takes a long time and considerable rainfall to bring stocks back up to acceptable levels. The bans remained in place long after the deck chairs were folded up and put back in the shed.

Summer 2023 Could be Even Hotter

The weather in 2023 is expected to be hotter than 2022, and another one of the warmest years on record – if not the warmest yet – according to the Met Office.

Take Action Now to Avoid Running Out of Water

It’s hard to imagine such sustained hot temperatures and a lack of rainfall at this time of year. As the year starts, the country is being hit by low pressure bringing rain in (literally) bucket loads. In line with the usual weather patterns, the UK will continue to have significant rainfall throughout spring.

That’s why now is the ideal time to install a rainwater harvesting system. Collect water now to use throughout the summer.

A rainwater harvesting system is easy and inexpensive to install. It collects rainwater from roof gutters and transports it to a shallow-dig storage tank where it is safe from contamination. It can then be filtered and treated as necessary and then piped out of the system for use in your house or garden.

What Can I use Rainwater for?

Untreated rainwater is known as non-potable. Non-potable water is not suitable for drinking but may still be used for other purposes, such as garden irrigation, washing cars and windows, clothes washing, flushing toilets, hosepipes, jet washes and so on.

Can I Drink Rainwater?

It’s not recommended to drink untreated rainwater. However, it is possible to treat rainwater once it’s collected in your storage tank so that it is safe for drinking. Water that is suitable for drinking is called potable water.

Save Money on Metered Water with Rainwater Harvesting

A large volume of the mains water we use in our homes and gardens could be replaced with harvested rainwater. That equates to big savings for people on a metered supply. Find out more about saving money with rainwater harvesting here.

Install a Rainwater Harvesting System Now and Beat the Rush

Although summer seems a long way off yet, rainwater harvesting system installers are becoming busy already. Once spring is in the air, expect them to get even busier as more and more people decide to collect the rain that falls freely on their land in the cooler months.