LONDON (dpa-AFX) - A drought has been declared in the West and East Midlands as dry weather continues to impact water resources across England requiring water companies to take action to manage demand with the public being urged to use water wisely.
The situation has deteriorated after three more areas - Lincs and Northants, East Anglia, and Thames area - moved into prolonged dry weather status recently.
A hosepipe ban is set to be introduced from July 22 by Thames Water following a period of prolonged dry weather in the area.
Across England, rainfall was 20 percent less than long term average for June this year. It was also the hottest on record for England, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water. Reservoir levels continue to fall, with overall storage across England at 75.6 percent and at 53.8 percent in Yorkshire necessitating a Temporary Use Ban.
The National Drought Group heard that without further substantial rain, some water companies may need to implement further drought measures, including more Temporary Use Bans to conserve supplies.
Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency Director for Water and National Drought Group chair, said:? 'This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer'.
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