Olympics kept from going brown by watering cans and recycled sewage water Last week was the driest for six months and the Met Office are not predicting any heavy rainfall soon. The impact would be devastating on the 250 acres of new parklands around the Stratford site. The Olympic "ecological park" is supposed to bring back wildlife to the area. But the Environment Agency has warned that birds, frogs and dragonflies will struggle to survive this summer without enough water. A wild-flower meadow almost the size of ten football pitches at the Olympic park could also look a little ragged and dry and riverside picnic lawns may go yellow. Ornamental gardens at the centre of the site are to be watered by hand, and drip irrigation systems will also be installed. Organisers Locog insist the parklands will be kept in shape by watering cans and the use of "grey water." Simon Evans, of Thames Water, said recycled water will help the Olympics cope with drought. A desalination plant that is already working, will provide extra drinking water. "The Olympic Park will be restricted from using hosepipes to irrigate using mains water, but would not be restricted if it used recycled non-drinking water," he said. "We've given the Olympics priority with the £7 million Old Ford treatment plant to supply non-drinking water, by replacing pipes near venues well before the Games, and installing "trunkminder" monitors on nearby pipes - which let us know if there is an increased chance of a burst. The Olympics could also use a blend of water including from the new desalination plant at Beckton which can supply a million people with water. Away from the Olympic Park, water levels at the canoe slalom course in Waltham Cross, Herts, have already had to be topped up using extra water from a borehole. The Environment Agency said the Olympics will have to work around the drought like everyone else. Enhanced and sustained water demand is likely during the Olympics and has been built into forward planning. Our Olympics assessment sets the risks and actions to mitigate them.