Rain, Rain, come and stay. Slow and steady is the best way.

Drizzle, spray, and torrential, there are many different types of rain that we see here in the UK. But is all rain easy to capture?

The short answer is no.

For instance, long, dry periods of scorching heat followed by heavy rain means not all the water can penetrate the ground, causing floods and overwhelming storm drains.

The other effect of this is that clean water suppliers, like us, do not get to capture as much water to be turned into drinking-quality water.

Why does this happen? When the ground is dry, parched, and compacted and it rains, water collects on the surface and runs off rather than seeping into the ground.

While runoff is good near rivers to help them replenish, the heavy rainfall associated with thunderstorms, which often happens as the hot weather breaks, leads to flooding in other places.

At South East Water, most of our water comes from aquifers, boreholes and chalk streams.

This means runoff is not captured in those ground sources. It isn’t replenishing (recharging) water levels.

So, what kind of rain helps our water supply levels? Steady, gentle rain that lasts for a few days to allow the soil to get wet. Once the ground is wet, it can take heavier rainfall.

The best groundwater recharge conditions are lower-intensity rainfall over a more extended period.

This type of rainfall usually happens in the autumn when we replenish our reservoirs for the summer. However, in the summer, when demand is high, and we alternate mostly between scorching heat and storms, it isn't easy to continue replenishing our raw water levels.

In summer, when water demand is higher and it’s difficult to replenish groundwater levels, we need to use less water to ensure there is enough for everyone.

According to National Geographic, we currently use around 143 litres of water every day. However, based on future predictions of water availability, the Environment Agency suggest we need to use less than 100 litres a day.

This is why, even when it seems like water is everywhere, we don't have as much as we think.