Six areas of England have been declared to be in a severe drought, with some reservoirs experiencing critically low levels that threaten public water supplies. The affected regions include parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex, and West Sussex.
Urgent measures are being implemented to secure public water supplies. The environment secretary, Angela Eagle, has yet to approve requests from three water companies to extend restrictions on water use to businesses such as golf clubs and commercial car washes.
Water minister Emma Hardy indicated that the environment could suffer due to the ongoing drought. Hardy has instructed the Environment Agency to prioritise protecting public water supplies in affected areas where there is an unavoidable trade-off between environmental rules and water supplies.
The south-east and south-west of England have experienced their driest April to September in over a century. Ardingly reservoir, serving approximately 95,000 properties, is only 19% full, while Wimbleball reservoir, supplying customers in East Devon, North Devon, Somerset, and West Dorset, is at 16% capacity. The Environment Agency typically expects reservoir storage to be around 75% at this time of year.
The National Drought Group has announced that the government and the Environment Agency will move to daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels. Heightened water quality monitoring will also be conducted due to lower dilution levels of sewage, which raises risks for water quality and environmental pollution.