England declares severe drought across six areas as reservoir levels drop

A severe drought status has officially been declared across six regions of England, following an unprecedentedly hot summer that left key water reservoirs at critically depressed capacities.

The designated severe drought status encompasses parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. The southern and south-western parts of the country endured their driest stretch from April to September in over a century, leaving water reserves drastically lower than typical seasonal averages.

Major storage sites have recorded alarming deficits. The Ardingly reservoir, which provides water to around 95,000 households in areas such as Haywards Heath and Uckfield, has fallen to just 19 percent of capacity. Wimbleball reservoir, which caters to South West Water and Wessex Water customers across parts of Devon, Somerset and Dorset, has dropped to 16 percent. According to the Environment Agency, such reservoirs would generally be expected to stand at roughly 75 percent capacity during this period of the year. Smaller reservoirs, including Drift and Stithians in Cornwall and the Venford and Tottiford facilities in Devon, are facing similar strains.

Water suppliers including Southern Water, South East Water and South West Water have sought government authorization to initiate emergency non-essential user curbs on commercial operations. These restrictions would target entities such as golf courses, private educational institutions and car washes.

Environment Secretary Angela Eagle has not yet granted permission for those commercial curbs, though she stated that ministers are ramping up coordination and planning alongside utility firms to safeguard household access. Water Minister Emma Hardy instructed the Environment Agency to give precedence to domestic drinking supplies in locations hit by severe drought whenever regulatory requirements for environmental protection clash directly with maintaining water delivery.

The National Drought Group confirmed that authorities will now track river and reservoir depths on a daily basis. Regulators are also heightening water quality assessments, as decreased river volumes reduce the dilution of treated effluent, compounding pollution risks. In addition, officials plan to step up compliance audits on commercial businesses that extract raw water to ensure they do not exceed permitted quotas.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy emphasized that utility operators must adhere strictly to established drought contingency frameworks to secure supplies, while urging households and businesses to voluntarily curb their daily consumption.