The Drought Continues!

Monday, 19th. October 2026

The drought continues! Some people seem to think that just because we have had a little rain the drought is over, but that is sadly not the case. It has been raining off-and-on through the night and more is on the way, so how do I know the drought continues? Well, I have a pond! A pond is a great indicator of drought and demonstrates very clearly the low level of reservoirs, after all, why would the level of local reservoirs be much different? Every time it rains, which is not often, the pond water level may increase by about 1 centimetre. And within 24 hours it is gone and the pond is right back to where it was – or even lower – thanks largely to evaporation.

I have a morning routine that helps to minimise evaporation loss, which is good because otherwise it would dry up completely and all 10 goldfish would die. I have a wash. How does that help? Well, my rented home comes with a very energy inefficient combination boiler which results in my having to draw off a bowlful of cold water before it is warm enough to remove the bowl and fill the small bathroom sink. I do not like to wash in cold water, especially on a chilly morning.

That bowl of water is destined for the pond and so is not wasted. Some days there is sufficient water left in the rainwater harvesting butt to add a few additional litres. But despite my best efforts, and a small amount of overnight rain, the pond is right back to where it was yesterday morning.

I have never known a year like this and the water level in my pond has never been so low. From an aesthetic point of view it looks awful and I wouldn’t choose to show it off as a feature in the garden. I removed the plants that were in there to a large bucket where they have languished ever since summer; they appear to be alive but the few centimetres of water that remains in the pond is insufficient to return them to their rightful place. The pond is essentially a very large black bin liner with a puddle at the bottom of it. Even the fish seem unhappy, but at least they are alive. I will feed and water them later this morning but in recent days these seem less excited than usual by the presence of food flakes from the sky.

It has been suggested that I should simply fill the pond with tap water, which from experience takes well over an hour. That is a lot of water and I simply cannot afford it. The last time I did so was at the end of July and by mid-August I would have had to fill it up again. Even if I could afford it there is a hosepipe ban in place, and I feel sure that folks in the local area would be unhappy if their drinking water was cut off and I had a lovely pond full of drinking water! And they would be right, so I don’t do it.