Summer has not yet arrived but already large areas of southern Britain are subject to hosepipe bans and other restrictions on the use of water. The south has suffered its lowest rainfall for 200 years, rivers have run dry and the water table is at an all-time low. But is nature alone to blame? Nisha Pillai investigates why water has become so scarce in parts of a country renowned for its rainfall, and asks what can be done to supply water to the regions suffering shortages.