Drought declared in Buckinghamshire as hosepipe ban looms

The Environment Agency (EA) today declared the regionto be in drought following a period of intense heat and dryness.

Thames Water said it was ‘ready’ to declare a hosepipe ban ahead of the announcement by the National Drought Group this afternoon.

The change could lead to more measures such as hosepipe bans, however, the EA has reassured the public that essential water supplies are safe.

Eight of 14 areas designated by the EA have now moved to “drought” status, including Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and East Midlands.

READ MORE: Hosepipe ban 'ready to go' if drought declared

Recent weather has been extremely dry. Photo by Anne Rixon - Bucks Camera Club

Water minister Steve Double said action was already 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% of the long-term average in north east England to 0% in south east and south west England.

Meanwhile, river flow data revealed almost 90% of measuring sites were showing below normal readings, with 29% classed as “exceptionally low”.

It comes after the driest July on record for some areas and the driest first half of the year since 1976.

Dr Stephen Burt, a climate scientist at the University of Reading, said around 6mm of water was evaporating each day.

“Every day we’re losing twice as much in evaporation as we received in rainfall for the whole of the last month,” he said.

“We have known that hotter and drier summers have been likely for the last 20 or 30 years and our water sources and infrastructure haven’t really been adjusted to cope with anything other than the 1950s climate they were designed for.

“They [water companies] need to factor in these kinds of things into future planning. By the time we get to 2080, this could be a cool summer and that’s really scary for water resources.

“We’re already tight on water resources in the South East of England but a summer like this every year: Well it would be catastrophic.”

Thames Water’s drought plan includes hosepipe bans, restrictions on non-essential water usage like window cleaning at businesses, before moving to restrictions of 80-100 litres per person per day.