The Environment Agency has declared a ‘potential drought’ status (see definition below) in the Middle and South Levels water management areas including Cambridgeshire and small areas of Norfolk and Suffolk, and is asking abstraction customers to help by using water carefully.
The change in status has been caused by the prolonged hot dry weather and means that water resources need to be carefully managed for there to be sufficient for the public, industry, agriculture and the environment.
The move to an official 'potential drought' status triggers a range of actions to conserve water supplies, so that farmers still have some to use for crop irrigation but to ensure there is still enough for the environment.
The period of dry weather has coincided with peak demand for irrigation. To conserve water and minimise demand, the Environment Agency is asking abstractors to use water efficiently by irrigating at night if possible and checking for leakages. This should help minimise demand but, if the conditions persist, formal restrictions to control abstraction may be put in place.
The Environment Agency is also encouraging farmers with winter storage reservoirs to use their stored winter water instead of their summer irrigation licences to save water and help the environment.
Mark Reid, Environment Agency Area Environment Planning Team Leader, said: “We need to balance the needs of the environment with those of abstractors. By using water responsibly, abstracting in line with licence conditions and complying with requests for voluntary measures we hope the demand for water can be controlled and that the use of formal restrictions can be minimised. We are monitoring the situation closely and will inform licence holders of any future changes.”
Environment Agency Officers will be checking licences in the area to ensure that abstractors are complying with licence conditions.
National Farmers’ Union East Anglia senior policy adviser Paul Hammett said: "This announcement sends an important signal to farmers to use their water wisely and to prepare themselves for possible restrictions. We welcome the chance being given to farmers to regulate their own water use by voluntary restrictions that encourage irrigation during night time only. This will help to eke out limited supplies of water for as long as possible’
The Environment Agency also reminds farmers with root crops to save some of their licensed quantity in case it is needed to lift them.
The Environment Agency’s role in managing water resources is to monitor and protect the environment and to balance the needs of the public, industry and agriculture. To manage the water available, different stages of water availability are defined as:
Normal – the normal water resource situation. There is sufficient water for public, industrial, agricultural and environmental needs
Potential drought – when dry conditions become evident. Through careful management there is sufficient water for all needs.
Drought – where there are local (or wider) drought conditions which are affecting water resources and the environment. There is insufficient water for all needs so resources need to be tightly managed.
Post drought – when conditions are recovering to a ‘normal’ water resource situation. Careful management is required for water levels to recover.
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