COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The West Midlands region is one of five areas that remain in drought with six more in prolonged dry weather



Drought has been declare across the West Midlands - including Coventry and Warwickshire. Such is the situation in parts of England that the Environment Agency called a National Drought Group (NDG) to discuss the current water shortfall situation now defined as a 'nationally significant incident.'

Drought has been officially declared in the West Midlands, East Midlands, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester Merseyside and Cheshire. There are six more experiencing prolonged dry weather following the driest six months to July since 1976.

Despite some rain, the government has said that many river flows and reservoir levels in England continued to recede compared to June. Currently Severn Trent Water, which provides water across our region, has not put any water bans in place.

But Yorkshire Water has put a Temporary Usage Ban, known as a hosepipe ban in place for all its customers. Thames, South East Water, and Southern Water also have postcode-specific bans.

The National Drought Group - which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union, Canal and River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts – used the meeting to highlight the water-saving measures each sector is taking.

Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director of water and NDG chair, said: "The current situation is nationally significant, and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment.

"Water companies must continue to quickly fix leaks and lead the way in saving water. We know the challenges farmers are facing and will continue to work with them, other land users, and businesses to ensure everyone acts sustainably.

"We are grateful to the public for following the restrictions, where in place, to conserve water in these dry conditions. Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife."