England’s water resources are deteriorating rapidly after another exceptionally dry week pushed reservoir levels lower and left the vast majority of monitored rivers below normal.
No area has yet been formally declared in drought – but the Environment Agency said conditions could deteriorate quickly if significant rain does not arrive
It said the country received less than 1mm of rain in the week ending 21 July, taking rainfall for the month to just 3% of the long-term average.
Southern and eastern England had recorded virtually no rain, while prolonged heat continued to dry soils and increase demand from households, businesses and agriculture.
River flows fell again, with 84% of monitoring sites classified as below normal or lower. Exceptionally low levels were recorded across parts of northern, eastern and southern England.
Reservoir storage dropped by 3.5 percentage points in one week to 75.3%, leaving stocks 7.4% below the seasonal average.
Almost half of monitored reservoirs are now below normal, with six classed as notably low. Blagdon and Wimbleball reservoirs were assessed as exceptionally low for the time of year.
The sharpest regional pressure is in south-west England, where storage is 10.3% below average.
Soil moisture deficits have reached record levels for this point in July across north-east, central, south-east and south-west England.
Nine Environment Agency areas are now in prolonged dry weather, the stage immediately before drought. These include East Anglia, Thames and London, Hertfordshire and North London, Wessex, the West Midlands and parts of Kent and South London.
Almost 40% of England’s population is now covered by temporary water-use restrictions following hosepipe bans introduced by seven companies.
High demand during the heatwave has accelerated the decline in reserves, with water use rising by up to 30% on the hottest days.
Agriculture is also under increasing pressure. More than 1,350 abstraction restrictions are in force to protect river flows, while farmers are reporting early harvests, weaker crop yields and growing concerns over livestock feed and irrigation supplies.
Environmental damage is rising as rivers warm and oxygen levels fall. The Environment Agency has recorded increasing numbers of dead fish, algal blooms and distressed wildlife, with fish rescues under way in some catchments.
The Met Office expects some more changeable weather into early August but warned any rain across southern England may remain patchy and insufficient.
The National Drought Group will continue meeting through the summer, with its next assessment scheduled for 18 August.
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