Ministers have held a Cobra meeting to prepare emergency measures for the water supply for millions of people after parts of southern England were placed into severe drought, The i Paper understands.
Severe drought – the highest status possible – has been declared in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, areas that cover more than 4.5m people. It is the first time this level of drought has been used in England.
The alert was triggered after below-average rainfall this autumn, in the wake of already minimal rain throughout spring and summer, left two reservoirs in West Sussex and Somerset at their lowest levels for decades.
The South East and South West have experienced their driest April to September for more than a century.
It is understood that the situation is deemed so serious that it merited a meeting of ministers and officials at Whitehall’s emergency planning committee Cobra on Thursday, and insiders say it is rapidly moving up the agenda for Andy Burnham’s government.
Civil emergency groups on standby
The Government is not yet planning widespread rationing of water supplies but water companies are being given powers to take “more water from the environment, limiting some business use, supply interruptions, or reducing mains pressure”.
People will be contacted directly by their water companies if they will be affected by these extra measures.
Three water firms – Southern Water, South East Water and South West Water – have applied for a Non-Essential Use Ban which would place a virtual ban on water use by businesses such as car washes and private swimming pools, including some gyms.
Local Resilience Forums – groups in charge of civil emergencies in regions across England – have been put on standby in areas affected and would co-ordinate measures such as bottled water stations in the event of water outages.
The groups are being stood up to “enable quick and effective development of support if required”, the Environment Agency said, and could be responsible for identifying vulnerable people who need access to drinking water.
The measures being imposed will ensure that the public’s access to water for drinking, cooking and bathing is prioritised over the environment and even some businesses.
A Whitehall source said the drought situation was causing a “fair bit of angst at the centre” of government and there was a lot of concern.
It could leave the Prime Minister having to deal with his first major domestic crisis if not handled correctly and ministers and Downing Street are understood to want it managed properly.
The severe drought status for parts of southern England follows the drought classification for Yorkshire last week.
All of England is now in drought except for the North West and North East, which remain in prolonged dry weather status.
‘Exceptional action is now needed’
However, the Met Office is forecasting a wetter-than-average later autumn and winter, due to what is expected to be the most powerful El Niño climate event for decades, which may bring an increased risk of flooding to the UK.
This means that reservoir stocks could start to be replenished and begin to return to normal by next spring. More rainfall is forecast for next week.
Public water supply is currently most at risk around Ardingly in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset. Homes and businesses served by these two reservoirs are under the severe drought declaration.
The Environment Agency and Defra say people’s water supplies will continue uninterrupted, but they say “exceptional action is now needed to conserve water and protect public supplies”.
Householders are being told to help the situation by using water wisely, including taking shorter showers, fixing leaks, using water carefully in the garden and using the eco-setting on dishwashers and washing machines.
They should also avoid pre-rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher, consider fitting a low-flow shower head, using a Cistern Displacement Device, filling washing machines to their recommended load, installing a water butt and turning off taps when brushing teeth.
Level of drought not seen for ‘decades’
Water companies have been told to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels as well as tougher water quality monitoring, and the Environment Agency will increase compliance checks on businesses that abstract water to check they are only taking permitted amounts.
The Environment Agency has also been told to prioritise protecting public water supplies in areas affected by severe drought where there are “unavoidable trade-offs with environmental rules, to allow water companies to keep more water in depleted reservoirs”.
The label of “severe drought” means a lack of water that affects daily life and the environment in major ways, and can have extensive, lasting effects on farming, people, communities, the economy and nature.
Ardingly in West Sussex, which supplies about 95,000 properties served by South East Water in Haywards Heath, Uckfield and the surrounding areas, is at 19 per cent capacity.
Wimbleball in Somerset, which provides for about 300,000 South West Water and Wessex Water customers in East and North Devon, Somerset and West Dorset, is 16 per cent full.
The Environment Agency said it would expect the reservoirs to be at 75 per cent capacity at this time of year.
There are also concerns about several smaller reservoirs serving homes in Devon and Cornwall, the agency said.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “This level of drought is something we have not experienced for decades, so this Government is stepping up our support and planning.
“We are working closely with water companies to protect public supplies in the areas affected, and I’d continue to urge everyone to think about how they can use water wisely over the coming weeks.”
Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now. We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies. We are also asking everyone to use less water.”
The Environment Agency has granted South East Water’s drought permit application to reduce the amount of water Ardingly reservoir releases each day to the River Ouse by three million litres.
It has also granted a drought permit application by South West Water to reduce the amount of water sent to the River Exe each day by nine million litres.