Haweswater reservoir in the Lake District UK, with a hosepipe ban in affect in the North West. United Utilities applied for the drought order, after the driest start to the year since 1929, with less than 50% of normal rainfall. The drought comes hot on the heals of the worst floods that Cumbria has ever seen, when in November 2009, United Utilities had to open the emergency valves to let water out, as the dam was in danger of collapsing when the water reached unprecedented high levels. Climate modelling shows that as the atmosphere warms we are more likely to move to a cycle of flood followed by drought.