Cambridgeshire and East of England officially moved to drought status after driest summer since 1976
Cambridgeshire and the whole of the East of England is officially in drought, amid the driest summer for nearly half a century.
The National Drought Group (NDG) met today to discuss the lack of rainfall and moved the region, along with parts of the South West and parts of southern and central England, into official drought status.
Such a move can prompt the Environment Agency and water companies to take more action to preserve water supplies.
But following the announcement, Cambridge Water and Anglian Water, which supply water to the area, confirmed that they still do not intend to impose hosepipe bans, despite coming under fire for failing to take enough action.
Anglian Water said its reservoirs were “topped up to around 80 per cent”, while Cambridge Water said it had spent “hundreds of millions improving resilience”, although both companies urged customers to use water wisely all the time.
The Environment Agency has reassured the public that essential water supplies are safe.
The NDG comprises representatives from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), water companies, the Environment Agency (EA), the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Natural England, Consumer Council for Water, water services regulator Ofwat, Water UK and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, as well as the Angling Trust and the Rivers Trust.
[Read more: ‘Why haven’t water companies imposed hosepipe bans in Cambridgeshire?’ Critics aghast at inaction]
Earlier this summer, it moved most of England into “prolonged dry weather” status, which is the first of four stages used to describe its response.
Eight of 14 areas designated by the EA have now moved into the second stage - “drought”.
These areas are: East Anglia, Hertfordshire and North London, Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and East Midlands.
Water minister Steve Double said action was being taken by the government, the EA and others to manage the impacts.
“All water companies have reassured us that essential supplies are still safe, and we have made it clear it is their duty to maintain those supplies,” he said.
“We are better prepared than ever before for periods of dry weather, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation, including impacts on farmers and the environment, and take further action as needed.”
The most recent EA data showed rainfall totals for August have ranged from 12 per cent of the long-term average in north east England to 0 per cent in south east and south west England.
As the Cambridge Independent has reported, the Met Office said early data recorded at Cambridge University Botanic Garden showed it had received just 223mm of rain in the nine months since November 2021.
This is about half of what would be expected in the period, and makes Cambridge one of the driest places in the country.
River flow data reveals almost 90 per cent of measuring sites nationally are showing below normal readings, with 29 per cent classed as “exceptionally low”.
There have been concerns that parts of the River Granta in Cambidgeshire could dry up completely, as they did in 2019.
The Cam in Cambridgeshire is now at 36 per cent of its long-term average flow.
It was the driest July on record for Cambridgeshire and the driest first half of the year for the country since 1976.
Four water companies, Welsh Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, and South East Water have all imposed hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water has announced a ban will start on August 26.
But Anglian Water is not expecting to impose one this summer.
Ciaran Nelson, a spokesperson for Anglian Water, said: “Today’s declaration of drought across the region we supply serves to underline the seriousness of the situation. But because of the investments we’ve made and the support of our customers, we still do not envisage needing a hosepipe ban in our region this summer.
“Over the last decade we’ve spent hundreds of millions improving resilience. Schemes like a new water treatment works for Lincoln, massive engineering schemes that mean we can move water all the way from Rutland to Milton Keynes, and the creation of additional back-up supplies for Norwich, have all helped.
“Schemes like this mean we’ve been able to keep our reservoirs topped up to around 80 per cent, and to reduce the pressure on our underground aquifers which are about average, or just below, for the time of year. Just five per cent of the water we use comes directly from rivers.
“The resilience we’ve created, combined with the best leakage record in the industry and 90 per cent of our customers having meters, means we’re able to manage drawn out periods of intense hot weather. We can’t ‘make more water’, so we must do all we can to look after what we have.
“Just because we don’t have a hosepipe ban, though, doesn’t mean people can be reckless with water. The less we and our customers use, the more can be left in the environment.
“That’s why, earlier this year, we reduced the water we take from the River Nene so farmers and nature reserves downstream could use more. It’s why we have some boreholes turned on right now, pumping water straight into critical rivers rather than putting them into drinking water supply. And it’s why we’re talking to the National Farmers Union (NFU) to look for more ways we can help.
“We live in the driest part of the country: it makes sense to save water all the time.
“We prepare detailed drought plans for scenarios just like this. If we reach the point of needing a hosepipe ban, we won’t hesitate to introduce one. But we’re not at that point right now.
“We should expect more summers like this in the future. That’s why we’re building a 400km, half-metre-wide pipe to bring water from the north of our region down to the dry south and east. It’s also why we’re planning for two new reservoirs, one in Lincolnshire and one in The Fens.
“I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to our customers for helping us make the East of England one of the most water efficient parts of the country. The job isn’t done, but with the help of our customers and the team at AW, we’re making good progress.”
And, similarly, Cambridge Water, which supplies the city and some of the surrounding areas, is not planning a hosepipe ban.
Natalie Akroyd, head of water resources at Cambridge Water, said: “Today the EA has announced that the East Anglian region is an area of drought. We are currently following our Drought Management Plan, which is agreed with the Environment Agency and Defra, and as such we do not intend to introduce a Temporary Use Ban at this stage, although we are continuing to review this.
“The Environment Agency imposes conditions on our licences that protect the local chalk streams in our Cambridge Water operating area during periods of hot weather. Once river levels drop to a certain point – called the ‘hands off flow’ – we have to reduce the volume of water we take from the environment to ensure these levels do not drop any further. We are already operating these hands-off flows and we have reduced the volume of water we take from our sources in line with these requirements. At the same time, our overall abstraction licences mean that we have sufficient water to meet current demands and we currently have adequate supplies to do so.
“We will continue to work with the EA and Defra to ensure we undertake any actions required as continue to keep the current situation under close review. In the meantime, we are strongly urging everyone to use water wisely, to ensure that there is enough for essential use and that we are protecting the environment the water is drawn from.”
The heat and dry conditions have also taken their toll on agriculture.
According to the NFU, crops such as sugar beet and maize are showing signs of stress from a lack of rain, while crops relying on irrigation, such as field vegetables and potatoes, are also facing problems.
NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said the situation was “hugely challenging” for farmers who were facing running out of irrigation water and having to use winter feed for animals because of a lack of grass.
The NFU also said “tinder dry” standing crops and parched grass posed a huge risk of fires spreading.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has dealt with a string of field fires in recent weeks, and has been called to combine harvester fires in Littleport, Stuntney and Sawtry on Thursday and Friday.
Mark Hardingham, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said: “While we are likely to see more wildfires due to the current conditions, it is impossible to say whether this will be more than when the country experienced 40-degree temperatures.
“The bigger risk at the moment is a combination of temperature and wind speed, which will contribute to fire spread and makes incidents harder to manage and extinguish.”
However, he added brigades were “well prepared and have plans in place” to respond.
Rain is forecast in Cambridgeshire on Monday and Tuesday next week, with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning for thunderstorms on Monday.
But John Curtin, executive director for local operations at the EA, said it would take “weeks’ worth of rain” to replenish water sources.
“We’ll need probably average or slightly above average rainfall this autumn into this winter for us to not be in a drought next year,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.
