The drought advice for cricket clubs is now uploaded on the GMA Toolkit and is available here: Watering and Drought Management | Grounds Management Toolkit (thegma.org.uk)

Please familiarise yourself with what can and cannot be done under Temporary Use Bans and what our messaging is.  We will revisit the guidance if there is escalation to Drought Orders as these are likely to be more variable amongst water companies in their detail.

Key messages in those conversations:

• The exemption is on safety grounds only.  Only unsafe areas should be watered.
• Any watering needs to be effective and efficient (we have provided advice for that).
• Clubs should respect the restrictions and comply with the law – abusing this will lead to this exemption being removed and could lead to clubs being prosecuted.
• Clubs should be mindful that everyone will be watching them water, so should be on the front foot with engaging with their community, as necessary.
• This could get worse, but we will be there to support the boards with advice etc.

Can you also please keep an ear/eye out for Water Companies challenging water use on these grounds in areas with Temporary Use Bans.  We shall need to walk a tightrope between maintaining good relationships with the water companies and protecting the rights of the cricket clubs.

It’s important that as a game we act on the responsibilities that go with those rights.  Can you please make sure you share the link: https://resources.thegma.org.uk/node/834 not any of the sub-pages, so that anybody looking at it gets the messaging on Watering Effectively and Efficiently and not just the Drought Restrictions part.   This is because perception is important here and we need to be seen to be doing the right thing.