Drought has been declared across more than half of the UK, including Birmingham and the West Midlands, prompting urgent calls for systemic water management reform. The Environment Agency confirmed drought conditions in seven areas of England: East Anglia; Hertfordshire and London; Thames Valley; Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; Devon and Cornwall; the West Midlands; and Wessex, covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and South Gloucestershire.
Rivers Trust Issues Warning on Annual Extremes
The Rivers Trust, a coalition of charities dedicated to protecting and restoring wild, healthy rivers, warns that without widespread system reform, droughts and floods will become an annual occurrence with increasingly severe impacts. The group states it is witnessing firsthand the devastating effects of weather extremes on river ecosystems, wildlife, communities, and businesses.
Tessa Wardley, Director of Communications and Advocacy for The Rivers Trust, said: “We urgently need to change how water moves through the landscape. Too much winter water is being lost quickly from farmland and rivers, instead of being slowed down and stored where it is most needed. This doesn’t just compromise our resilience in dry conditions, but adds to flood risk when heavy rains do return because water runs off the dry, compacted ground so rapidly.”
Measures to Combat Water Scarcity and Flood Risk
The Rivers Trust is calling for a range of interventions that act as natural sponges. These include building more on-farm reservoirs, improving soil health, and restoring river corridors and floodplains. Such measures would store water after heavy rainfall and gradually release it during drier months, creating a more resilient landscape that remains greener, more productive, and better able to withstand extreme weather.
“There is an urgent need to make more space for water on land through measures such as on-farm reservoirs, healthier soils, and the restoration of river corridors and floodplains,” Wardley added.
Other Regions Also Affected
North Wales and the Upper Severn river basin entered drought conditions last week following record low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures, as declared by Natural Resources Wales. Meanwhile, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) reported that some parts of Scotland are in the most extreme category of “significant scarcity.”
The widespread drought declaration across England and parts of Wales and Scotland underscores the urgency of the situation. The Rivers Trust emphasizes that proactive water management is essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change and prevent the recurring cycle of drought and flood.
