River-flow rates in England have been lower this summer than at any time in the past 21 years, data has shown, and could be much worse next year, with dire impacts on wildlife and the natural environment, conservation experts have warned.
Analysis since 2002 of England’s groundwater, reservoir levels and river flows – three key indicators for the severity of drought, and for river health – shows that July this year was the worst in that period.
River flows this July were lower than normal in 88% of rivers, and reservoir levels stood at about 64% of their capacity, the lowest level in the past two decades. Groundwater was at its fourth lowest level, with about two-thirds of sites showing lower groundwater levels than normal.
The analysis, seen by the Guardian and coordinated by Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), based on Environment Agency monthly water situation reports from July in each year, showed that this year has been the worst overall for drought when ranked across the indicators.
Ellie Ward, policy and information coordinator at WCL, said: “Our resilience to drought is not good enough. This puts nature and people at risk of running out of water. We need ambitious, holistic action to build that resilience and to secure a clean and plentiful water supply.”
Experts also warned that this year’s drought may not be a one-off but could be the start of a three-year drought cycle, which has struck three times in the past two decades, in 2004-06, 2010-12 and 2017-19, as the WCL analysis shows.
If that is the case, water levels and river-flow levels would get much worse next year, which would spell disaster for swathes of England’s wildlife and the natural environment. Fish and other aquatic life, and the ecosystems that depend on rivers and streams, have already suffered badly in this year’s drought.
Mark Owen, the head of freshwater at the Angling Trust, said: “At the beginning of this year, our rivers had still not fully recovered from the impacts of previous years’ dry weather events. We now need government to expedite action to allow full recovery and plan for possible impacts in 2023 and beyond, if this weather is repeated.”
He called for the government to take steps to reduce water demand, increase resilient supplies and “build back wetter”, such as by restoring wetlands.
Low water-flows mean not only less water for aquatic species, but also more concentrated pollutants, rivers choked with sediment, and lower amounts of dissolved oxygen, which leads to the death of fish and invertebrates.
Conservationists have raised concerns that some rivers will take years or decades to recover from the record drought, compounded by increasing pollution both from farms and human sewage that water companies have been allowed to discharge into rivers and streams. The River Wye, for instance, was already heavily polluted by runoff from poultry farms, and Windermere, probably the UK’s most famous lake, has been so affected by phosphate pollution and drought that a dangerous blue-green algae has bloomed.
If pollution and poor management are allowed to continue, another year of drought could spell disaster for those and many other English waterways.
Ali Morse, water policy manager at the Wildlife Trusts, and chair of the Blueprint for Water coalition, said: “Over the last 100 years we have lost 90% of the wetlands we once had, so it’s hardly surprising that our landscape is less able to capture and absorb water. Wildlife-rich wet meadows, reedbeds, fens, peat bogs and beaver-created wetlands were once widespread, acting as a sponge to absorb the rain that replenishes underground aquifers and tops up rivers.”
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The climate crisis also means future years are likely to bring similar weather. This year’s record-breaking heatwave will be the average summer by 2035, according to research by the Met Office. That means more must be done to prepare the UK for hotter weather and drought.
Nathan Richardson, the head of strategy and policy at Waterwise, said: “We know the frequency and severity of severe drought is increasing with climate change. We have to use the water we have more wisely and we urgently need to see government promises on new policy to reduce water demand turned into action.”
Torrential rain has battered parts of the south-east and east of England in recent days, relieving some parched soils but only partly, as soil that has dried out over a long period does not absorb water well and much of the rain will have run off, adding to the problem of sewage outflows.
Sir James Bevan, the chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Water pressures on wildlife and the environment remain high and despite recent rainfall and the pause in the hot dry weather, we must continue to manage water wisely. Both for the coming year and, with the impact of climate change, for the coming decade, a complete gear change is needed for how water companies and all water users, from farmers to households, think about how they use water and understand its fundamental value.”
He said: “This summer should be a wake-up call for how the nation prepares for weather extremes and how we make the very best use of our water resources. Our National Framework for Water Resources sets out clearly what we are doing in the face of a new normal for water and we are determined to drive that forward.”
