Rapid showers and no flushing toilets: drought pushes Lundy island to the brink — SkimNews
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- Lundy island has had no measurable rain since the start of May, with water tanks plunging to 13% capacity — roughly one week's supply — according to island manager Matt Scantlebury
- Restrictions shut the Marisco Tavern's toilets, closed the campsite, removed bath plugs from holiday lets (which can host up to 110 visitors), and prompted evacuation talks among the island's 28 permanent residents
- Pondsbury, the island's freshwater pool, is now supplying 12,000 litres daily and has lifted tank levels back to 22.5%, but is itself beginning to run dry with no significant rain forecast
- A 300,000-litre water tank has been ordered to bolster reserves; desalination has been floated but deemed too costly and likely beyond the island's energy capacity
- Conservation farmer Tom Carr blames the pattern on climate change combined with the Bristol Channel outcrop's granite topography, saying rain clouds routinely "split" as they approach Lundy and leave it dry
- Residents and visitors have adapted with rapid showers, bucket-flushed toilets, and water caught in buckets — one day-tripping couple arrived with just 1.6 litres of water and hydration tablets
- The drought has boosted certain wildlife: assistant warden Tara McEvoy-Wilding noted bumper seasons for butterflies, moths, and the endemic Lundy cabbage, a primitive brassica that thrives in dry bare ground
Why it matters: Lundy's 28 residents and up to 110 visitors rely entirely on rainwater and boreholes; with tanks at 22.5% and the backup Pondsbury pool itself drying up, managers have ordered a 300,000-litre reserve tank while ruling desalination too expensive and energy-hungry. The crisis shows how a tiny island's topography — granite that splits incoming rain clouds — can turn a routine climate shift into an existential supply emergency.
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