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    Low rivers & reservoirs - Parts of England inching towards drought

16:00
22 July 2026

Low rivers & reservoirs
Parts of England inching towards drought

People relaxing in a park during hot weather ,with one person sunbathing on dry yellow grass beneath large leafy trees under a blue sky with scattered fair-weather clouds.
Little rainfall has left grass at Wimbledon Common parched and yellow. - © picture alliance / Visually | amer ghazzal

Numerous areas across England are facing drought amid a dry spell which has left rivers and reservoirs at low levels.

Just 13% of rivers across the UK are at normal levels according to the National Drought Group. This follows a declaration of prolonged dry weather, one step down from an official drought status in 13 areas.

Amid general low levels, the Rivers Avon, Cam, Derwent, Swale, Tone, Wye, and Yare have been singled out as exceptionally low while six reservoirs are "notably low" with Blagdon reservoir denoted as "exceptionally low".

As a result, farmers are warning of potential food shortages in supermarkets for later in the year with some crops failing in the hot and dry weather and an earlier harvest of others with conditions hastening the growth.

Little rainfall means water restrictions also continue to spread. On Tuesday, Thames Water became the latest water company to implement a hosepipe ban for their customers.

Parts of England have gone 30 days without any rainfall, including London where the last rain recorded was on June 23rd, while central England is experiencing the longest dry spell for three decades.

Ryan Hathaway

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