World
• Analysis
Severe drought in England declared in six areas as public water supplies come under threat
A severe drought in England has been declared in parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, threatening public water supplies after the UK's hottest summer on record, with some reservoirs at critically low levels.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 15, 2026
• 3 Min Read
A severe drought in England now covers parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, with some reservoirs at critically low levels and public water supplies under threat. The move follows the UK's hottest summer on record, and urgent measures are being taken to secure supplies.
Reservoirs far below seasonal norms
The south-east and south-west of England recorded their driest April to September in more than a century, a shortfall attributed to the climate crisis that has hit reservoir levels. The Environment Agency would normally expect reservoir storage to be about 75% at this time of year. Instead, several key reservoirs sit far below that:
- •Ardingly reservoir, which serves about 95,000 properties in Haywards Heath, Uckfield and surrounding areas, is only 19% full.
- •Wimbleball reservoir, which supplies South West Water customers in East Devon, North Devon, Somerset and West Dorset and Wessex Water customers in West Somerset, stands at 16% storage.
- •Drift and Stithians reservoirs supply 56,000 households in Cornwall, while the Tottiford and Venford group supplies 47,000 households in Devon; several smaller South West Water reservoirs are also a concern.
Business restrictions awaiting approval
South East Water, South West Water and Southern Water want to impose non-essential user bans on businesses such as golf clubs, private schools and commercial properties, including commercial car washes, to protect supplies. Environment secretary Angela Eagle has yet to approve the requests from the three companies, two of which operate in areas now in severe drought.
Government response
After a national drought group meeting, Angela Eagle said the government was increasing its support and planning in response to conditions not seen for a long time.
"This level of drought is something we have not experienced for decades, so this government is stepping up our support and planning."
She said the government was working closely with water companies to protect public supplies in the areas affected, and urged everyone to think about how they use water wisely over the coming weeks. Water minister Emma Hardy indicated on Thursday that the environment could suffer during the drought and instructed the Environment Agency to prioritise protecting public water supplies where there is an unavoidable trade-off with environmental rules.
Monitoring and compliance stepped up
The National Drought Group said the government and the Environment Agency would move to daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and run heightened water quality monitoring, because lower dilution of sewage raises the risk of pollution. Businesses that abstract water will be put through more compliance checks to ensure they take only what they are allowed.
Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said companies were expected to use their existing plans to secure supplies.
"We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now."
Duffy added that the agency is asking everyone to use less water, which will leave more in rivers and the environment, helping farmers and protecting wildlife and nature.
