Government declares severe drought in parts of England, tightens water monitoring
- Severe drought declared in six counties in England
- Environment Agency told to put public water supplies first
- Customer water supplies will be uninterrupted, government says
Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Evelyn-roseLONDON — The government declared severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, and told water companies to step up drought planning to protect customer supplies before any disruption occurs.
The government said the South East and South West have had their driest April to September in over a century, and that this has affected reservoir levels in those areas.
Under the plan, ministers are instructing water companies to monitor reservoir and river levels daily and to carry out tougher water quality monitoring, the government said.
The Environment Agency will increase compliance checks on businesses that take water from natural sources, to make sure they take only permitted quantities. Local Resilience Forums have been stood up to develop support quickly if it is needed.
Water Minister Emma Hardy has instructed the Environment Agency to prioritise protecting public water supplies in areas in severe drought where there is an unavoidable trade-off between environmental rules and water supplies. The government said this means letting water companies keep more water in depleted reservoirs.
"This level of drought is something we have not experienced for decades, so this government is stepping up our support and planning," Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said.
"We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now," Environment Agency Chief Executive Philip Duffy said.
The announcement followed the latest meeting of the National Drought Group, which the government has convened regularly since August. The government also cited longer-term measures, including investing $138 billion (104 billion pounds sterling) to upgrade water infrastructure and building nine new reservoirs.