Drought spreads across half of England

Drought has been officially declared across seven areas covering approximately half of England after exceptionally low rainfall intensified pressure on rivers, reservoirs, agriculture, and public water supplies.

East Anglia, Hertfordshire and London, the Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex have entered drought status, according to the Environment Agency.

England received only 7% of its expected rainfall during July, with parts of southern England recording approximately 1%. The dry conditions followed 12 consecutive days in which temperatures exceeded 30C somewhere in the country.

River flows were below normal or lower at 78% of monitored sites, while six rivers were classified as exceptionally low. Seven water companies had introduced temporary use restrictions affecting approximately 23 million customers, equivalent to around 40% of England’s population.

Helen Wakeham, director of water and chief regulator at the Environment Agency, said: “We have experienced an exceptionally dry July, with record low rainfall across much of England. This has led to declining river flows, low reservoir levels and increased pressure on the environment and water supplies.

“The prolonged dry weather is having serious impacts on agriculture, wildlife and water availability. We are working closely with water companies, farmers and other sectors to manage the situation and protect supplies.”

The declaration does not impose one national set of restrictions, but it enables closer coordination between regulators, water companies, local authorities, agricultural bodies, and other users. Measures can include abstraction controls, operational changes, customer restrictions, environmental monitoring, and additional support for affected sectors.

England has now experienced drought conditions in three of the past five years, following significant events in 2022 and 2025. Repeated dry periods are forcing water availability into investment, procurement, and continuity decisions that once assumed reliable supply.

Agriculture faces some of the earliest effects. Lower river flows and abstraction limits can restrict irrigation during critical growing periods, while livestock producers may encounter reduced grass growth and higher feed costs. Lower domestic harvests can then affect food processors, wholesalers, retailers, and hospitality companies through availability and pricing.

Construction and manufacturing are also exposed. Concrete production, cooling, cleaning, food manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor processes, and data centres can require substantial volumes of water. Restrictions or local supply concerns may alter production schedules, site selection, insurance assessments, and investment plans.

The regional pattern creates an additional management problem. A company may have sufficient water at one facility but face limits elsewhere, while suppliers several tiers removed from the organisation may be concentrated in more exposed areas.

Conventional continuity planning does not always identify those dependencies because water consumption is frequently measured at company level rather than by site, river basin, and production process. Procurement teams may also lack data on the water intensity of essential suppliers.

Utilities must balance immediate demand with the need to protect reservoir levels and aquatic habitats. Leakage reduction, transfers between regions, new reservoirs, desalination, and water reuse infrastructure all require lengthy planning and investment programmes, leaving restrictions as one of the few measures available during acute shortages.

The operational effects of climate disruption across UK companies already extend into insurance, workforce arrangements, logistics, and production. The drought declaration adds water availability to that list and exposes the limits of sustainability plans focused mainly on reported emissions.

Companies with water-dependent operations may need more detailed information on site consumption, supplier location, abstraction dependence, and the commercial consequences of temporary restrictions. Reducing demand can also lower energy costs because pumping, heating, cooling, and treating water require power.

Investment decisions will differ by sector. Some facilities may justify recycling systems, storage, rainwater capture, or redesigned production processes, while others may need contractual arrangements for alternative supply. Smaller operators may lack the capital or technical expertise to make those changes without support.

Near-term conditions will depend on rainfall during the remainder of summer and autumn. Even sustained rain may take time to restore groundwater, river flows, and reservoirs, leaving utilities, farms, and industrial users managing constrained supplies after temperatures have fallen.

Repeated drought declarations will also intensify debate over planning, infrastructure funding, abstraction rules, and how water is allocated between housing, industry, agriculture, and the natural environment. Those decisions increasingly determine where economic activity can expand without placing further pressure on already stressed catchments.