Current situation - 18th April 2011

Flows in some rivers are lower than the Environment Agency (EA) would expect at this time of the year in the south west, central and eastern England.  This is because March and early April have been dry and this follows a fairly dry winter overall.  However, most reservoirs and aquifers are normal for the time of year following the rainfall we received in January and February. 

At this stage EA believe it is unlikely that water companies will impose restrictions on their customers during the spring or summer this year. If the dry weather continues though, farmers in East Anglia are at a higher than normal risk and could experience restrictions on abstracting water and on using it to spray irrigate their crops. We are working closely with farmers to keep them up to date with the situation.

While public water supplies may be unaffected, EA are concerned that the continuing dry weather could affect wildlife, including fish and plant life that live in and around our rivers and lakes.  This is due to the reduced river flows and lower water levels in our lakes and ponds.  EA are keeping a check on this situation and will do what they can to alleviate such problems. They are asking those enjoying the environment to keep a look out for problems such as fish gasping for air and to report any concerns to the environment agency on their incident hotline               0800 807060         (freephone, 24 hour service). 

Hot dry spells are a normal part of most summers and the Environment Agency, water companies and other water users such as farmers and industry do plan to cope with these without restrictions on water use.