It takes several months of intermittent rainfall to fill a reservoir.
If there’s lower than average rainfall over the winter, then a few very wet days in the spring is not going to fill it.

That all seems pretty straightforward to me.

Why does it need to be repeated on every news report about floods or droughts ?
Why am I surrounded by people everywhere I go who comment on this being the wettest drought they have ever seen as if they have spotted some glaring flaw in the water company’s claims that no one else has seen ?

people are idiots.

Do you know how many copies of the Sun and Daily wail sell everyday?
That ppl think that soap opera characters are real….
I could go on but unfortunately I’m of the opinion this may well come true.

Disclaimer: Not that I wouldn’t suggest I have my own moments.

It takes several months of intermittent rainfall to fill a reservoir!!!
If there’s lower than average rainfall over the winter, then a few very wet days in the spring is not going to fill it!!!

Just in case.

Although you really do need to work on your headline…

How about..

The Rain in Britain goes mainly down the drain.

I think it’s reasonable for people to discuss the juxtaposition of a drought order being in place against what has been a (short) period of excessive rainfall 🙂

MTQG – you are absolutely correct. That doesn’t get around the fact that IT IS very wet at the surface for a nation in a state of drought. I think most folks (old enough) think of the parched turf of 1976 or images they have seen from Africa of arid plains when they think drought. I don’t think every person who points out this irony to you is without the wherewithal to understand the underlying geographic state but merely using the famous British ironic humour and conversational obsession with the weather.

I get your point, convert.
It’s a bit like people posting lolcats on their facebook page though.
Yes, they are funny, but it gets a bit tedious when everyone repeats the same thing as if they are the first to notice it.

Dumbed down media…

Why not explain evapo-transpiration and soil moisture deficit?

It has been a wet drought though innit.

Our tumbledrier gave up the ghost last night after weeks of overwork.

It’s final words were ‘I thought there was a bleedin’ drought on?’

It takes several months of intermittent rainfall to fill a reservoir.

That is very true. It is also true that it takes even longer to fill a reservoir which isn’t there anymore.

My own water company, Thames Water, has sold off 25 reservoirs since privatisation. So I guess they won’t be collecting any water from those then.