FLOODS AND DROUGHT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22504, 23 February 1935, Page 17

FLOODS AND DROUGHT

VILLAGERS BUYING WATER In spite of the fact that the last weekend in December was the wettest experienced in England for many months, the rain brought little relief to many districts in which water supplies failed entirely during the prolonged drought. December 16 provided the extraordinary contrast of deep floods in some areas, while in others the inhabitants were paying a halfpenny a pail for water. The month promised to be one of the wettest Decembers on record. The rainfall on December 17 exceeded the average in most parts of' England, Wales and Ireland. The inhabitants of Docking, Norfolk, were envying the townspeople of Pulborough, Sussex, the two feet of water •which rendered' the main street of that town impassable. “ Our water is brought to us in .notot lorries from Bircham Newton aerodrome, two miles and a-half away, and thankful we are to get it even at a halfpenny a pail,” one of them said. “ We have had a lot of rain in the past few days, but the springs and wells became so dry during the drought that they will not be of any use until the spring. Farmers- are carrying water several miles to their stock, and many of us have forgotten what a real bath is like.” A telephone call to Pulborough produced a very different tale. “ The main street is flooded for the first time for some years,” said a householder, “ and the water is still rising. Notices have been put up advising motorists that the road is impassable, and flags arc also being used to warn them to drive with the greatest caution. Meadows just ou f side the town are like a vast sea.”