Drought spreads and strains the country

(by Karma Loveday)

Four more areas –  East Midlands, Lincolnshire & Northamptonshire, Kent & East Sussex, and Solent & the South Downs – moved into drought last week. This means 71.3% of England, as well as all of Wales, is now formally in drought. 45m people are living in drought areas, and 27m are subject to temporary use bans from eight water companies.

In parallel, the North East and Yorkshire moved to prolonged dry weather – the stage before drought – with nowhere now deemed in normal status.

Drought impacts are becoming increasingly obvious across society. In terms of public supplies, as of 13 August, reservoir storage for England was at 65.9% (13.8% below the long-term average), and five reservoirs were classed as exceptionally low. 

Many companies are keeping very fragile supply situations at bay through careful operational responses. Southern Water has applied for two Drought Orders: the first is to maintain normal abstraction rates from the River Test even during low flows; and the second is for a supportive Non-Essential Use Ban which would restrict certain water uses for businesses. Both are under consideration by Defra, and are contentious because the Test is a rare chalk environment.

More broadly, river flows continue to decline, with only 14% at normal levels. 22% are exceptionally low, including the Avon, Wye, Ely Ouse and Exe.

On Friday, Defra announced a £65m package to support farmers in England who are struggling with drought impacts such as reduced crop yields, poor grass growth and pressure on winter livestock forage stocks. The package included abstraction licence variations to make it easier to share water between holdings, and £15m for on-farm reservoirs, alongside action to reduce planning barriers for these. Defra said details will be set out in an updated National Planning Policy Framework, which will be published today (Monday).

East Anglian farmers are particularly affected by irrigation restrictions, with over 1,500 now in place. Fourteen abstractors in the Wensum catchment in Norfolk have had to stop abstracting due to low water flows and the potential impact on the environment.

As the Defra package was announced, the Country Land and Business Association Cymru wrote to the Welsh Government’s minister for rural resilience and sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd MS, calling for an urgent statement on the emerging water shortage crisis on farms across Wales.

Low river flows and declining water levels are also affecting navigation. There are 26 navigation closures and 19 restrictions in place across the Canal & River Trust’s network, with further closures likely in the absence of rain. The River Nene has low flows due to water being used to fight a wildfire on Holme Fen.

Environmental impacts are now becoming stark, with rising numbers of drought-related incidents including low-flow events, algal blooms, fish deaths and deteriorating water quality. The continued hot, dry conditions are also increasing wildfire incidents and risk, spurring prime minister Andy Burnham to issue a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.

The situation in Scotland is more varied and heavy rainfall last week supported localised recovery. There are normal conditions in the north and west, and much of central Scotland is in the ‘early warning’ or ‘alert’ phases. The most challenging area remains the east, but only four catchments are in the ‘significant scarcity’ category, with most in 'moderate scarcity’.

Drought and heatwaves are also ravaging mainland Europe. For instance, extremely low water levels on the Rhine and the Danube are disrupting energy generation, freight, and river transport as well as straining water supply, agriculture and nature.

• Thames Water released research from Accent last week which found that 89% of people backed the White Horse Reservoir project. Eight in ten across the south east also said they would visit the reservoir. Thames said it is on track to submit its Development Consent Order application to the planning inspectorate in November.