A conversation with Professor Lindsey McEwen on drought, a hidden yet pervasive risk to the UK. Go to http://dryutility.info/learning/ to access the full DRY Utility resources or go to the drought myth-busters to quickly learn about misunderstandings of UK drought.

 

This is an extract of the DRY Utility resources (DRY standing for Drought Resources and You), a project led by Professor Lindsey McEwen (UWE Bristol) and a number of other contributors. Throughout DRY, the project aspired to raise awareness of drought as a risk in the UK and to fuel discussion about how it is perceived by different communities and across sectors.

The catchments were the Fife Eden (Scotland), the Sheffield Don, the Bevills Leam in the Fens, the Berkshire Pang, the Bristol Frome, the Afon Ebbw (Wales) and the Cornish Fowey.

Below are 11 drought myth-busters to inform and educate.

Myth 1: Water is infinite and free

Myth 2: Britain is wet: droughts don't happen here

Myth 3: Drought only occurs in the summer, when it's hot

Myth 4: Drought is when rivers and reservoirs run dry

Myth 5: Rain spells the end of drought

Myth 6: All droughts finish with heavy rainfall

Myth 7: Floods and droughts cannot occur at the same time

Myth 8: Droughts are only short-term problems

Myth 9: If you cannot see impending drought, there is no risk or impact

Myth 10: Costs of flooding are greater than drought

Myth 11: Droughts only happen in other countries

Cartoons by John Elson

Featured image: Pawel Czerwinski @pawel_czerwinski /Unsplash

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