Cornwall declared in severe drought as Stithians drops to 21%

Turn on the tap this morning and nothing will seem any different. The water still runs, the kettle still boils, and the shower still works. But behind the scenes, parts of Cornwall have just been moved into the most serious drought category the country has seen in decades, and the reservoirs that keep those taps flowing are a long way from full.

What has been declared

The Government declared severe drought on Thursday 15 October across parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the South East and South West have just had their driest April to September in more than a century.

The announcement followed the latest meeting of the National Drought Group, which has been meeting regularly since August. It brings together the Met Office, Government, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers’ Union, the Canal & River Trust, anglers, hydrologists and conservation experts.

Will it affect your water supply?

South West Water says supplies are continuing as normal, and the Government says customer water supplies will be uninterrupted. The point of the declaration is to allow extra steps to be taken now, so that problems are headed off before any disruption happens.

Those steps include:

• Water companies carrying out daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels, along with tougher water quality monitoring
• The Environment Agency stepping up checks on businesses that take water from natural sources, to make sure they only take what they are permitted to
• Local Resilience Forums being stood up so support can be put in place quickly if it is needed

Water Minister Emma Hardy has also told the Environment Agency to prioritise protecting public water supplies in the affected areas, where there is an unavoidable trade-off between environmental rules and supply. In practice, that means water companies can keep more water in depleted reservoirs.

How low are the reservoirs?

South West Water’s total reservoir storage stood at 32% on Thursday 15 October. Its own figures for Cornwall’s reservoirs make for sobering reading:

• Colliford: 34%
• Drift: 26%
• Stithians: 21%

Colliford is one of the company’s three big strategic reservoirs, alongside Roadford and Wimbleball, and its water is shared with many of the smaller ones across the region. Wimbleball, on Exmoor, is down to 15%.

South West Water says the recent rain has been welcome but is nowhere near enough. It will take sustained wet weather, over many months, for levels to recover.

The hosepipe ban stays, but it matters less now

The South West Water hosepipe ban, in place across Cornwall since 8 August, remains in force. But the company points out that as winter arrives, restrictions on outdoor use make less of a difference, simply because people are not watering gardens or filling paddling pools in November.

That shifts the focus indoors. Shorter showers, turning off taps while brushing teeth, and only running the washing machine and dishwasher on full loads are the changes South West Water is asking for now. Its figures show the average person uses 145 litres a day, with showers, baths and sinks accounting for around 40% of that and toilet flushing another quarter.

Customers can also answer a few questions online to be sent free water-saving devices in the post, and more tips are on the company’s save water page.

What the Government says

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “This level of drought is something we have not experienced for decades, so this government is stepping up our support and planning.

“We are working closely with water companies to protect public supplies in the areas affected, and I’d continue to urge everyone to think about how they can use water wisely over the coming weeks.”

Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said recovery depends on both rainfall and how much water people use. “We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now,” he said. “We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies.”

South West Water thanked customers who are already cutting back, saying their efforts are making a difference and that it will need that support “over the months ahead”.