DROUGHT UK
4 in 5 rivers abnormally low, sparking fears of shortages this summer
More than four- fifths of the country’s rivers have fallen to abnormally low levels amid growing fears Britain is on the brink of a severe drought.
Figures released by the environment Agency show 34 out of 40 rivers are running drier than the long-term average following the driest winter in more than 20 years.
As a result, households are already being threatened with a hosepipe ban if they do not cut their water use.
The figures come as shocking pictures illustrate the impact of the unusually low rainfall on Britain’s waterways. Dog walkers in Corbridge, Northumberland, are able
‘Bone dry for more than a month’
to cross the exposed bed of the Tyne. Meanwhile, the wettest inhabited place in england has been left ‘bone dry’.
Seathwaite, in Borrowdale, Cumbria, typically receives between two and three metres of rainfall a year.
But its river bed is now completely dry, having gone weeks without water to top up the river Derwent.
Peter edmondson, who runs Seathwaite Farm Camping, said it had been bone dry for more than a month.
‘You can walk right across the river now, no problem,’ he said.
‘It can be quite a ferocious river under normal conditions when it is full, so this is a sight to see. It certainly makes me think that there is a drought coming.’
Affinity Water, which supplies counties including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Greater London and parts of Kent and essex, recently become the first company to warn of a possible hosepipe ban this summer.
other suppliers, including Southern Water and South east Water, are also advising households to cut back on their use, ensuring washing machines and dishwashers are fully loaded.
It comes after the Met office revealed this April was the tenth driest in almost a century since records began, with the period between october 2016 and March this year the driest since 1995.
Forecasters said the dry weather appears set to remain in england and Wales until Thursday
In its most recent summary of river levels, for the week up to May 2, the environment Agency reports: ‘Flows have increased slightly at two-fifths of the indicator sites, mainly located in the southern half of england. How- ever, the latest daily mean flows remain below normal or notably low for the time of year at all but six indicator sites.’
The worst affected rivers, with ‘ notably low’ levels of water, include the Avon, the Upper Severn, the Trent, the Thames and the South Tyne. And in Sussex the river ouse is recorded as being ‘exceptionally low’.
Groundwater aquifiers have also been left severely depleted, heaping pressure on suppliers. Last night Affinity Water said: ‘We are requesting customers use water wisely to avoid the possibility of restrictions this summer.’
The environment Agency said it was working with water companies, businesses and farmers to ‘minimise any potential impacts to people and the environment should the dry weather continue’. LAKE DISTRICT