'Growing concern' over river levels in the West Midlands caused drought
A drought was declared across the West Midlands on Tuesday
The Environment Agency has told us a 'growing concern' over river levels is the reason the West Midlands was placed into a drought.
A drought was declared across the region on Tuesday (15th July).
Driest spring in 132 years...
England has experienced its driest spring in 132 years, with some river flows at their lowest for June since 1976.
The National Drought Group said without further substantial rain, some water companies may need to implement further drought measures.
This may include hosepipe bans, which have already been declared by other companies such as Southern Water.
"Spreading the balance of water"
Ollie Hartland is incident manager at the Environment Agency, he said river levels in the region are a concern:
"We are working really hard with our partners, to make sure we are spreading the balance of water to our users. Please just be mindful of the water you are using.
"We are also reaching out to farmers through this period of drought, to make sure they are coping," he said.
What do Severn Trent say?
Severn Trent are the water company that covers the West Midlands:
A spokesperson from the company said: “Severn Trent hasn’t had a hosepipe ban for over 30 years because we know just how important it is for our customers.
"It’s why we have thousands of employees working around the clock right now to keep the water flowing.
"We can't escape how hot and dry it is"
"We’re finding and fixing more leaks than ever before, investing record amounts in new pipes, and upgrading and developing new treatment works, adding hundreds of millions of litres of drinking water into our network.
"So, whilst we want to reassure our customers that we’re doing everything we can to keep the water flowing, we can’t escape how hot and dry it is, and how little rainfall we’ve had this year.
"We experienced record levels of demand just last week and that’s why, as well as doing everything we can, we’re also asking our customers to be even more mindful of their water usage during this hot spell," they said.