England’s reservoirs are 95% full

The Environment Agency’s National Drought Group has confirmed England’s water resources are in a healthy position following the wettest October to March on record.

At a meeting chaired by the environmental watchdog, the group confirmed that no area is in drought and reservoir storage for England was 95% at the end of March.

In fact, farmers are currently facing the problem of too much water, rather than too little, which could impact this year’s growing season.

Yet the record winter period means there is a low-risk that hosepipe bans will be needed this summer.

Despite the promising outlook, the Environment Agency cautioned against complacency.

Environment Agency director of water Helen Wakeham, who chaired the meeting, said: “While it is positive that water supplies are currently in a favourable place, every drop we can save will help ensure our supplies are resilient into the future. Even following wet weather, we cannot be complacent with this precious resource.

“We all need to use water wisely, such as turning off taps when they are not needed or installing water butts in our gardens. At the same time, the Environment Agency will continue to work with the water, agriculture, and environment sectors, to prepare for droughts, which can come unexpectedly as we found in 2022.”

Water minister Robbie Moore added: “It was promising to hear that water supplies are currently healthy – however, we all have a role to ensure this remains the case. We have been clear to water companies that as well as going further and faster to tackle pollution, they need to do more to secure future water supplies.

“This includes reducing leakage by at least 50% by 2050, as well as encouraging efficiency through an increased use of smart water meters.

“We are securing significant investment to develop new infrastructure, which would include building more reservoirs, and it is vital water companies and regional groups deliver on these plans.

“We are also supporting farmers to store more water on their land with tens of millions of pounds delivered through the Water Management Grants to fund more on-farm reservoirs and works to improve irrigation.”

It comes as water companies across the UK have recently said they are not expecting to impose restrictions on usage this year following the wettest 18 months in almost two centuries.

In recent weeks several companies have resisted calls from Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell to implement more hosepipe bans which he sees as one of the few ways consumers see “the fragility of the system”.

The decision not to implement restrictions comes off the back of exceptionally high rainfall for England, with analysis of provisional Met Office figures showing 1,695.9mm of rain fell from October 2022 to March 2024 – the wettest 18-month period since it began collecting comparable data in 1836.