Drought status remains unchanged as the fourth heatwave of the summer hit England this week and reservoirs levels continue to recede, according to the latest update released by the Environment Agency on Friday.15 August.

Photo: low water levels at Yorkshire Water's Cammonden reservoir 

The heatwave brought hot and dry conditions with temperatures exceeding 30°C in many parts of England There was only 2mm of rainfall overall in the week ending 12 August.

In addition to the 3 drought orders that the Environment Agency has already applied for to protect the environment at Holme Styes, Elslack and Winterburn reservoirs, the EA also applied for 2 further drought orders on 15 August for Holme Styes and Belmont reservoirs. The second drought order at Holme Styes is due to acceleration in the deteriorating water position.

Public water supply reservoir storage levels continue to recede at most reported reservoirs. Stocks across England for the period ending 12 August were 65.6%, falling 2.1% in the week. Ardingly, Clatworthy, Blithfield, Derwent Valley, Chew Valley, Blagdon and Yorkshire’s overall stocks are all now less than half full, and the Pennines group stocks are 38% (as of 10 August). United Utilities has now crossed its drought level 1 trigger and South Staffordshire Water has crossed its drought level 2 trigger.

Dry weather conditions have brought forward the harvest and current feedback from farmers indicates a drop in yield for many crops, especially cereals and peas. With dry weather set to continue, this will likely see further drops in river flows and water availability for irrigation. The Environment Agency sent letters on 14 August to 254 abstractors in the Wye Catchment asking for voluntary reductions.

Areas currently in drought are:

• Cumbria and Lancashire 
• Greater Manchester Merseyside and Cheshire
• Yorkshire 
• East Midlands 
• West Midlands 

Areas in prolonged dry weather are:

• North East 
• Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire 
• East Anglia 
• Thames 
• Wessex 
• Solent and South Downs 

Rainfall for the first twelve days of August ranged from 29% of the August long term average in the northwest to 4% long term average rainfall in the southeast. With hot and dry weather, soils have dried with soil moisture deficits increasing across all areas.

River flows have receded at 93% of reported sites this week.- over three quarters (77%) are below normal or lower with 8 exceptionally low rivers for the time of year as follows: Rivers Wye in Wales, Severn in central England, Ely Ouse in east England, Tone and Bristol Avon in southwest England and Derwent, Swale and Till in northeast England.

Nationally reservoir storage levels fell by 2.1% during the past week to 65.6%. For the period ending 12 August, the lowest nationally reported reservoirs are:

• Pennines group (37.8%)
• Yorkshire stocks (41.9%)
• Blagdon (43.3%)
• Chew Valley (45%)
• Derwent Valley (45.7%)
• Blithfield (47.6%)
• Clatworthy (48%)
• Ardingly (48.9%)

As expected at this time of year, groundwater levels continue to recede, with levels in the Chilterns, North Downs and across East Anglia in their normal range.

However, at the end of July the limestone aquifers in the Cotswolds were exceptionally low for the time of year, and levels in faster responding chalk aquifers are notably low in Yorkshire, Wessex and the Isle of Wight.

Water companies continuing to act in line with drought plans

The water companies in England are continuing to act in line with their drought plans  - they report their drought response using operational drought levels, from drought level 1 escalating to level 4.

Anglian Water, Cambridge Water, Essex and Suffolk Water and Northumbrian Water currently remain at drought level 1, while Severn Trent Water remains at drought level 1b in its North Staffs and Strategic Grid East supply areas and at drought level 1a in its Strategic Grid West area. Wessex Water remains at drought level 1b and its reservoir storage continues to decline.United Utilities moved to drought level 1 on 13 August. The company’s Pennine reservoir levels remain of concern, with storage at 37.8%, 1.5% lower than the last week.

The other water companies are now drought level 2 status as follows:

• Bristol Water remains at drought level 2. Reservoir position is at 50% and continues to decline, even with action taken by the company to increase output from its Littleton water treatment works.
• Southern Water remains at drought level 2 in its Hampshire and Isle of Wight supply areas and implemented a temporary use band (TUB) on 21 July for customers in these areas. The company has also applied to Defra for a drought order to alter its River Test abstraction conditions.
• South East Water remains at drought level 2. The company implemented a TUB in its Kent and Sussex supply areas on 18 July. Arlington reservoir is currently at 54% full and Ardingly is at 43.8% full.
• South Staffordshire Water has moved to drought level 2. Blithfield reservoir is at 47.5% and has decreased by 1.3% in the last week. The company continues to review the need for further demand actions.
• Thames Water remains at drought level 2 in its Swindon and Oxfordshire supply area (SWOX) and drought level 1 in its London zone. Thames Water implemented a TUB for its SWOX customers on 22 July.
• Yorkshire Water remains at drought level 2 and implemented a TUB on 11 July. Reservoirs have declined 2.5% in the last week to 41.9% full. The company has applied for 22 drought permits and 1 drought order. This includes the recent application for its south group of permits (8 permits) on 8 August.

Agriculture

With parts of the country experiencing heatwave conditions, impacts on the agriculture sector are continuing, with farmers in the driest parts of the UK facing the possibility of some of their worst ever harvests as the heatwave continues to affect vegetable and crop yields.

The EA says it is constantly reviewing the need for Section 57 irrigation bans in parts of East Anglia where river flows have been low. The Agency has previously written to licence holders in East Anglia, requesting voluntary reductions on surface water abstraction and is also monitoring the River Wye catchment in the West Midlands for any potential Section 57 bans. The EA sent letters on 14 August to 254 abstractors in the Wye Catchment asking for voluntary reductions.

The Agency is warning that straw and fodder stocks are expected to be in short supply this year, with higher prices expected as a result, meaning livestock farmers may have to buy in food or sell animals to reduce pressure on feed supplies. Uncertainty and significant challenges remain in the sector especially if there is a dry autumn/winter period and farm irrigation reservoirs are not refilled, which may impact on the next year’s planting of crops.

The next meeting of the National Drought Group, which is led by the Agency, is scheduled for 15 September 2025.