England faces drought as reservoir levels fall

England faces a summer drought unless there is significant rain soon, as reservoir water levels dwindle.

- Helena Horton

Ministers will today convene the National Drought Group of water firms, farming groups and other experts to prepare for what is expected to be a dry summer with potential water shortages.

Scotland has already sounded the alarm over a potential drought, issuing an "early warning" of water scarcity in April.

No reservoirs have been built in England for more than 30 years, which leaves the country particularly vulnerable to drought. Reservoir levels are lower than they should be after parts of the country had their driest spring on record, and if this weather continues as predicted there may be shortages leading to hosepipe bans and potentially other rationing.

To avert a drought, there would need to be rainfall at levels last seen in 2012, when record-breaking deluges caused floods across the country, according to the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management.

A spokesperson for CIWEM said: "Rainfall totals across much of the British Isles have been low since the start of 2025.

"This has reduced the amount of recharge and refill possible in groundwater and reservoir resources over the 2024-25 winter, and left water resources below the levels companies would like to see at the start of the spring/summer seasons.

"The data shows that at present 2025 rainfall is similar to levels last seen in drought events of the last 20 years. It suggests that sustained rainfall, such as that last seen in 2012, would be required to remove the threat of drought this year."