The UK’s National Drought Group met on Monday (11 August) to discuss the current water shortfall situation in England, now defined as a ‘nationally significant’ incident.
Five areas are officially in drought, with six more experiencing prolonged dry weather following the driest six months to July since 1976.
Despite the unsettled weather last month, many river flows and reservoir levels in England continued to recede compared to June.
Rainstorms and showers helped mask the fact that July was still the fifth warmest on record.
August has started to see a return of drier conditions and the fourth heatwave of the summer – putting more pressure on already struggling public water supplies and navigational waterways.
The National Drought Group – which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union, Canal & River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts – used the meeting to highlight the water-saving measures each sector is taking.
They also praised the public for reducing their daily usage, with Yorkshire Water reporting a 10% reduction in domestic demand following their hosepipe ban. This equates to saving up to 80 million litres per day – equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The less water that is used, the less needs to be abstracted from local rivers – therefore protecting the health of our waterways and wildlife.
“Working with the National Drought Group, the Government is urgently stepping up its response to ensure we are successfully managing the impacts of ongoing dry weather,” said Water Minister Emma Hardy.
“Water companies must now take action to follow their drought plans – I will hold them to account if they delay. We face a growing water shortage in the next decade. That’s why we are pushing ahead with root and branch reform under our Plan for Change, which includes £104 billion of private investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.”
The current situation across the UK
- Drought has been declared in: Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, East Midlands, and the West Midlands.
- Areas in prolonged dry weather (the phase before drought) are: Northeast, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, East Anglia, Thames, Wessex, Solent, and South Downs.
- The remaining areas are normal: Hertfordshire, London, Kent, Devon, and Cornwall.
- Yorkshire Water has a Temporary Usage Ban (TUB, aka hosepipe ban) in place for all its customers.
- Thames, South East Water, and Southern Water have postcode-specific bans.
- Reservoirs fell by 2% last week and are now 67.7% full on average across England. The average for the first week of August is 80.5%. Last month, the average was 75.6%
- The lowest reservoirs are Blithfield (49.1%), Derwent Valley (47.2%), Chew Valley Lake (48.3%), and Blagdon (46.3%).
- Rainfall in July was 89% of the long-term average for the month across England. This is the sixth consecutive month of below-average rainfall.
- Across the country, 51% of river flows were normal, with the rest below normal, notably low or exceptionally low.
- Two rivers – the Wye and the Ely Ouse – were the lowest on record for July.
- There are currently navigation closures or restrictions across sections of the Leeds and Liverpool, Macclesfield, Trent and Mersey, Peak Forest, Rochdale, Oxford, and Grand Union Canal.
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