Raindrops

Raindrops!
Real drops, falling from the sky!
Five minutes later and they were no more.

In the meantime the hosepipe ban starts on Thurday
South East Water's statement:

South East Water gives notice that, pursuant to sections 76 and 76A-C of the Water Industry Act 1991, it prohibits from the beginning of 5 April 2012, throughout its entire area of supply (extending across parts of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire), the following uses of potable water supplied by it (that is water treated to drinkable standards).

A full explanation of the definitions used is given beneath the table.

(a) Watering a garden using a hosepipe
(b) Cleaning a private motor-vehicle (or a trailer for such a vehicle) using a hosepipe
(c) Watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using a hosepipe
(d) Cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe
(e) Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming or paddling pool
(f) Drawing water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use
(g) Filling or maintaining a domestic pond (manmade or natural) using a hosepipe
(h) Filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain (including a cascade or any other display of moving water, and includes filling by permanent plumbing)
(i) Cleaning walls, or windows, of domestic premises using a hosepipe
(j) Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe
(k) Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe

Exemptions:

The following will be exempted from the restriction:

i) using a hosepipe in a garden or for cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises, paths or patios, a private leisure boat or an artificial outdoor surface, where such use is necessary for health and safety reasons;

ii) watering a garden attached to a domestic dwelling or watering plants on domestic premises using a hosepipe, by people with severe mobility problems who hold a current Blue Badge as issued by their local authority;

iii) using a hosepipe to clean a private motor vehicle, private leisure boat or walls and windows of domestic premises, where this is done as a service to customers in the course of a business;

iv) using a hosepipe to water an area of grass or outdoor artificial surfaces used for sport or recreation, where this is required in connection with a national or international sports event;

v) drip or trickle irrigation watering systems, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld, that place water drip by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface, without any surface run off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist;

vi) maintaining a domestic swimming pool with a water conservation recycling system.