The Environment Agency is urging water companies to do more to safeguard water supplies and warning of a medium risk of drought this summer after the driest start to spring in 69 years.

The environmental regulator convened a meeting of the National Drought Group yesterday and said more needed to be done to cut leakage and help customers use water more wisely.

In England, March was the driest since 1961 and April received just half its normal rainfall. Farmers have had to start irrigating crops earlier and reservoir levels are either notably low or exceptionally low across the North East and North West of England. Both regions have seen their driest start to the year since 1929.

Representatives from the EA told the meeting - which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, farmers and conservation experts – that while no area is currently officially in drought there is a medium risk of one this summer without sustained rainfall.

Chairing the meeting, Environment Agency Deputy Director of Water, Richard Thompson, said:

“The changing climate means we will see more summer droughts in the coming decades.

“The last two years were some of the wettest on record for England but drier conditions at the start of this year mean a drought is a possibility and we need to be prepared.

“It’s heartening to see more people looking to reduce their water use and we expect water companies to do more to cut leakage and rollout smart meters.”

Whilst there are currently no plans for hosepipe bans, if the prolonged dry weather continues, water companies may need to implement their dry weather plans in the weeks and months ahead.

The EA is closely monitoring water companies’ implementation of the plans, especially high-risk locations, as well as working with farmers to help them plan for irrigating their crops. It is also preparing dry weather advice and information for the public, including small steps they can take to reduce usage.

Water Minister, Emma Hardy, said:

“Our water infrastructure is crumbling after years of underinvestment.

“Water companies must go further and faster to cut leaks and build the infrastructure needed to secure our water supply.

“The Government has secured over £104 billion of private sector investment to fund essential infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs to secure our future water supply into the decades to come.”

The National Drought Group will meet to discuss action regularly in the coming months – at yesterday’s meeting, attendees heard about the current water resources situation:

Reservoir storage across England is 84% of total capacity, compared to 90% at the end of April in the 2022 drought year. While chalk groundwater levels are generally in a good position, river flows are currently below normal or lower for this time of year across northern and central England.

A dry start to the year means farmers have had an earlier start to the irrigation season and have seen an increased demand on their on-site storage reservoirs. Wildfires have been reported in Cumbria, Derbyshire and Dorset as vegetation is dry.

The EA has called on the group’s membership to take action to ensure they are prepared for drought. This includes:

• Water companies stepping-up action on leakage and preparing their dry weather plans.
• Water companies communicating with customers about current risk and supporting them to use water wisely during this dry period.
• Farmers to work with NFU to assess their water needs this summer and take action now to ensure they have enough to last the summer
• EA to work with fishery owners to have ensure plans are in place to manage dry weather.

According to EA figures, by 2050, England will need to find an additional 5 billion litres of water a day to meet demand for public water supply. This is more than a third of the 14 billion litres of water currently put into public water supply.