Yet within a few short months, significant parts of the UK will be staring down the barrel of empty water butts. Much of that four-figure average rainfall is propped up by the rainy highlands of Scotland, Wales and Northern England. In the South-East of England, the average annual rainfall lingers around 500-600mm – less than South Sudan, or Perth, Western Australia. This also happens to be the UK’s most populated area, packing some 18 million inhabitants into just 19,000 sq km (the size of New Jersey), including its capital, London. And this region is drying up, fast.

Last year (2018) saw six consecutive months of below average rainfall in England, causing many reservoirs to run dangerously low. This was no ‘one off’ event. The previous year, 2017, saw the driest 10-month period for more than 100 years.

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The latest Government Water Abstraction plan shows that 28% of groundwater aquifers in England, and up to 18% of rivers and reservoirs, are unsustainably abstracted. Only 17% of England's rivers are classified as being in ‘good ecological health’.

Yet much of the public remain oblivious to the problem. The majority (55%) of freshwater in the UK is abstracted for domestic, household use, compared to just 1% for agriculture. The average Brit uses 150 litres of water per day, through a combination of showers, high-flush toilets, dishwashers, washing machines, and garden hoses. Compare that to Cape Town, where annual rainfall also averages around 500mm yet residents’ usage is capped at 50-70 litres per day.