WINTER is now behind us, despite the chilly weather that's bedevilled our springtime. But how many of us will be looking forward to another long, hot summer?

Certainly not most of Britain's water companies, whose reservoirs have not been helped by the May rainfall - only 24 per cent of the normal average for the first half of the month.

In the North-west, reservoir levels are said to be 10 per cent below normal. Those who supply the increasingly precious commodity to our homes, shops, offices and industries claim to be making valiant efforts to plug the leaks in a system that seems to be related to the proverbial sieve.

Let's hope that if the drought continues and those hosepipes have to remain locked away and baths rationed, we can be comforted by a certain knowledge that the hefty water bills we are paying are really plugging the leaks - and, hopefully, limiting the misery. After all, these damp islands famous for their rainfall should be exporting the water, not rationing it!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.