“A drought? Crikey. They'll be a few residents of central Australia who will be chucklin' into their beers if they ever get to read this!”

“Why? This is not funny news?”

“With the massive population growth and the constant building on land it is inevitable that we shall need to treat water as a finite resource. I have always used it as sparingly as I can and wish that others would do likewise and not ponce around with their power washers as though there was an endless supply. You are quite right Jani88, it is not a laughing matter.”

“Of course "drought" is a relative term and Australia and parts of Africa have seen droughts which make ours look like The Great Flood. So. for starters, I wish they wouldn't use that term. We are suffering from a lack of water not the non-existence of it. They are saying that it's worse than 1976 in some places, well if it is, why can't I see brown lawns everywhere? Or standpipes anywhere?

Beyond that I'm in two minds about this story. On the one hand the water companies waste a lot of water and have been criticised for not doing more to stop their own leaks (but after privatization they had their shareholders to think about so you can;t really blame them for putting profits before people). Also, companies (both big and small) waste a lot of water. The water used to keep golf courses green and pleasant dwarfes anything I might put on my scrappy bit of lawn. And I wonder if the boom in hand car washes hasn't contributed to water consumption? Do owners of 4x4s (which seem to use these places disproportionately) really need to keep their cars *that* clean?

On the other hand, we have all been progligate in water use I'm sure. Putting too much water in the kettle, leaving the tap running while we clean out teeth, taking too long in the shower. As Opinion8ed says we can't just assume all this water is going to keep coming from somewhere.

As anyone who has been on holiday to such exotic places as Lanzarote will know it's quite possible for pretty large populations to get along without any fresh water at all. But it requires a bit of effort from everyone.”

“@Opinion8ed - "ponce"... *tehehe* - Sorry, that word just amuses me.

I must admit I was only thinking last night about installing some sort of rain water harvesting kit, for 3 reasons really. 1) Save a bit of money now we've had a lovely water meter installed by STrent. 2) Save the amount of water we need to use from STrent, therefore lowering energy use to treat etc. 3) Help in the event of a drought.

And I agree, not sure what the Oz comment was all about?”

“were an island water all round us? Desalination salt for the roads water for the tap !!!!!!!!”

“I did hear that the World would run out of water before oil, that could concentrate the mind, In the meantime the answer to the water shortage? Dilute it ! ! ! OK OK OK only joking.”

“i heard this tooooo it is not good news i hope we can sort it out some how? x”

“We have certainly had an extremely dry winter this year. The trouble is that we have become used to taking water for granted and wasting it watering lawns and washing cars with hosepipes.

The water companies are as bad, not bothering with leaks for days or weeks at a time, and not modernising the infrastructure to minimise waste.

I became aware of being more careful with my use of water when I moved into a new house a few years ago complete with a water meter. My water bills now are still considerably less than I was paying in water rates 17 years ago, so it can be done.

I believe that every house should be fitted with a meter, so that everyone thinks about the amount of water that they use, and the personal cost of being wasteful.”

“Drink beer instead?”

“Is this the Sunday trading forum?....Whoops!”

“by ruweller
Sunday, February 26 2012, 8:44PM

"Drink beer instead?"

LOL errrrr doh there is water in beer....You need WATER to make beer you.....LOL”

“That is quite funny I agree with that comment. There has been a little more rain about in the last week or so, I hope that will help for the summer period.”

“we have more than enough water we will never have a proper drought
stop worrying .
I have a water meter get one if they is two of less in your house .”

“"we have more than enough water we will never have a proper drought stop worrying" - are you a hydrologist? I just about remember a proper drought in 1976, so it seems a bit bizarre to dismiss the very possibility, especially as our weather patterns are naturally erratic from year to year.”