Severe drought conditions have been declared across parts of southern England, prompting the government to urge households and businesses to use water carefully.
Water and flooding minister Emma Hardy told MPs that the current conditions were “something we have not experienced for decades” and asked people to “think about ways to use water wisely over the coming weeks”.
The Environment Agency’s declaration covers parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. Yorkshire moved into drought status last week, meaning more than 80% of England is now affected, according to Hardy.
The government said water supplies would not be interrupted. It said the declaration was intended to ensure “proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs”.
Reservoir levels under pressure
Hardy attributed the situation to exceptionally low rainfall and depleted reservoir levels. She said the South East and South West had experienced their driest April-to-September period in more than a century.
Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor was reported to be at 14.9% capacity, while Ardingly Reservoir in West Sussex was 19.4% full. Other reservoirs listed as being at low levels included Roadford in Devon at 36.8%, Burrator at 33.6%, Colliford in Cornwall at 35% and Stithians at 21.9%.
Wimbleball supplies about 300,000 properties across east Devon, north Devon, Somerset and Dorset. Ardingly serves around 280,000 properties.
As part of the severe drought response, water companies have been asked to monitor reservoir levels daily and carry out tougher checks on water quality.
The Environment Agency is also increasing compliance checks on businesses abstracting water from natural sources, to ensure they take no more than their permitted quantities.
Opposition criticism
Robbie Moore, the shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs, accused the government of being “slow to react” to the conditions.
“This is the third drought in five years, it should not have caught the government off guard,” he told MPs.