That’s Chew Valley Lake, ‘a reservoir in Chew Stoke, Chew Valley, Somerset, England’ it says on Wikipedia, and a major provider of water to Bristol and its surrounding areas. I went there many times as a young child, mainly because my dear old grandad couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Nothing much happened really. We sat in the car, my grandad, grandma, my mum and me, watching the birds bobbing around the surface of the lake, if I was particularly lucky, I might get an ice cream from the van which would often appear on a Sunday afternoon. My family knew how to rock and roll. But almost always, there was a lot of water in the lake. Not today.
This has happened because of our long, dry spring and summer. We have all seen parched fields during this drought but even I was not expecting Chew Valley Lake to look quite as, well, empty as this. And then I got to thinking: what if this drought, which is beginning to feel endless, actually was endless?
We cannot attribute this specific event to climate change. It’s not as simple as that. But climate change means more examples of extreme weather. Not just drought but excessive floods, stronger winds, record high and low temperatures. Climate change – call it climate breakdown, if you will. But it’s getting a little worrying.
I mean, it will rain soon, won’t it? The law of averages means that it will piss down for the rest of the year and the lakes and reservoirs will be overflowing and we won’t know what to do with it. Doesn’t it?
Chew Valley Lake is currently at 44% storage, which is to say 44% of where it should be. Nearby Cheddar is at 36% and Blagdon (below) is at 42%. We have not had hosepipe bans in this area just yet but surely it can’t be long? My nature is never to look on the bright side of life and this endless summer, which isn’t fading fast, is beginning to worry.
I’m having silly and pointless thoughts about things I cannot change. It’s full of what ifs. And I’m thinking ahead to November when it still hasn’t rained. We’ve got standpipes on each street and everyone is panic-buying bottled water, which is rapidly running out. The government is building desalination plants on an industrial scale, changing sea water to drinking water, just like they do in the Canary islands, for example. I am now willing it to rain but that prick who does the weather forecast on BBC Points West is saying the drought will go on for the foreseeable future. What will Chew Valley Lake look like then?
Hopefully, I will read this blog again in the deep midwinter and wonder what the fuss was all about. But what if my fears came true?
If this mad weather doesn’t convince people that climate change is for real and that net zero is vital if we are to avoid catastrophe, then we are fucked. For years we heard the warnings about it all and now it’s here.
We drove to Blagdon Lake afterwards which all looks perfect from a distance. I’ll leave you with that view but if you look closely it’s far from perfect. Get out and do that rain dance, kids.
