Three water companies are seeking to impose severe restrictions on businesses as the drought continues across most of England, putting rivers and wildlife under huge pressure. Golf clubs and private schools could be barred from using mains water to irrigate playing fields and courses, and commercial car washes stopped from operating, under “non-essential use bans” being sought by the companies. Eleven areas of England are still in drought, rivers are suffering from low flows, groundwater levels are declining and reservoir levels are at 54% – 21% below what is expected in the autumn.
Yorkshire was the latest area to move into drought status on 9 October. Parts of Wales are experiencing the first signs of drought recovery after the whole country was declared in drought in July. Nineteen reservoirs or reservoir groups in England and Wales are less than 50% full, and eight are exceptionally low, up from five in August.
The Met Office says above-average rainfall is needed over a sustained seven-month period to bring all areas out of drought. But last month England received about 65% of its typical September rainfall, with eastern and southern areas experiencing the greatest deficit. Businesses in drought-hit areas have been excluded from the hosepipe restrictions imposed on the public for the past three months.
But South East, Southern and South West Water have applied to extend restrictions on water use to businesses via non-essential use bans in parts of their regions. If granted, water restrictions can be placed on golf clubs, private schools and commercial car washes to cut water use. Power hoses in car washes can use up to 25 litres of water per minute.
Permission from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is required, but the government has yet to respond to the water companies’ requests. Pressure on wildlife and the environment from the drought is continuing. River flows in seven areas in England are exceptionally low, according to the latest Defra figures, affecting habitats, fish and wildlife.
They include the River Derwent in the north-east, the rivers Yare and Ely Ouse in east England, and the River Tone and the Hampshire Avon catchments in south-west England. When river flows fall to low flow levels they can take years to recover, with potentially severe effects on fish spawning and river health. Mark Owen, the head of fisheries at the Angling Trust, said: “When rivers and fish are suffering from the ongoing effects of a severe drought, the Angling Trust supports further restrictions on non-essential water use, alongside urgent action to reduce huge leakage from water companies and unsustainable abstraction from rivers.
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