Environment Agency declares drought in North West England

The Environment Agency (EA) has declared a state of drought in the North West of England, not long after warning there was a medium risk this summer.

River flows, groundwater levels, and reservoirs are all low in the region, with the last currently lower than at this point during the 1984, 1995, and 2022 drought years.

While a hosepipe ban is off the table for now, the EA is working with the relevant water company, Untied Utilities, to implement lower-level actions in its drought plan.

The only UK water company thought to have introduced a hosepipe ban this year is Youlgrave Waterworks, which supplies the village of Youlgrave in Derbyshire.

The EA says the state of water resources in other parts of England is ‘a mixed picture’ and officials are convening the National Drought Group today (5 June) to assess the situation.

Andy Brown, Water Regulation Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

‘Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon. As we see more impacts from climate change heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent. This poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades.

‘Despite the rain over the weekend levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.

‘With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Drought Plan.’

BALI will continue to monitor developments and communicate any further droughts and hosepipe bans to members and, in turn, clients.

We have previously discussed the benefits of sustainable garden design, rainwater harvesting systems, and water solutions more broadly.