UK Water Crisis In 2019

With the continuing low rainfall this winter UK government, water companies and environmental groups have warned this could lead to drought in spring 2019 unless some action is taken to boost reserves.

The UK’s National Drought Action Group (NDG) met to assess the present situation of UK water reserves and review action being taken to reduce the risk of drought this year. Despite recent rainfall and cooler weather, a “significant number” of reservoirs in the North England are very low.

NDG mentioned water supply restrictions could be in place to customers this spring and summer if the average rainfall is low.

More than 300 dry-weather environmental incidents were recorded over last summer. While there was no threat to essential water supplies. A drier than average winter would prove to be challenging for farmers next year and cause further environmental impacts across the country.

The update follows a heatwaves and minimal rainfall across the UK and Europe through summer 2018, which scientist concluded was made by human-caused climate change. The situation led to spikes in crop prices., low water supplies and wildfires across Europe.

Recent heavy rainfall across Cumbria has boosted water resources in the region for some United Utilities reservoirs, the NDG said but there remains continuing localized drought risk in some areas of the Pennines, Yorkshire, Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, and parts of central England.

“The current environmental situation is fragile and dependent on good rainfall over the autumn and winter period,” the NDG statement said. “The dry summer had a significant impact on water supplies, agriculture, the environment and wildlife, with the Environment Agency responding to 314 dry weather-related incidents over summer – more than three times the usual amount.”

Despite recent rainfall provides respite to some rivers and wildfire, the water resources situation “has not yet returned to normal”

At the end of August 2018, the overall reservoir stocks were at 65% the challenges is to come with low rainfall, it is most likely spring and summers could be faced by droughts.