Research and analysis

Dry weather and drought in England: 4 to 10 September 2026

Updated 11 September 2026

Applies to England

1. Summary

All parts of England received rainfall, ranging from 14mm in east England to 46mm in the north-west. England has received 33% of the long term average (LTA) rainfall in September. While many rivers responded with increased flows there are many that are below normal for the time of year. Groundwater levels continue their seasonal decline. Reservoir storage has continued to fall to 56.9% nationally which is just under 20% lower than where we would expect them to be. There are now 12 reservoirs or reservoir groups less than half full.

There has been no change to Environment Agency Area drought status this week, with 10 areas in drought status and the remainder in prolonged dry weather status.

Demands on public water supply are lower than levels seen in August. Public water supply reservoir storage continues to decline for several water companies. Temporary use bans (TUBs) remain in place across large parts of England covering 30 million people. Water companies continue to submit drought permits and orders.

Peak irrigation season has passed for the agriculture sector, and recent rainfall has eased some drought pressures. There has been a small decrease in the number of abstraction restrictions compared to last week.

There is little change to that reported last week for navigation. The water resources position remains poor despite recent rainfall. 

The Environment Agency remains focused on its drought response. We have asked water companies to provide updated projections for autumn and winter, which will be discussed at the National Drought Group meeting on 15 September.

2. Active temporary use bans (TUBs)

The following companies have implemented TUBs, in all or part of their supply areas:

• Affinity Water – Central and East regions, covering Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey, and parts of London and Essex
• Anglian Water – whole company area, excluding Hartlepool
• Bristol Water – whole company area
• Cambridge Water – whole company area
• Essex and Suffolk Water – whole company area
• Southern Water – Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
• South East Water – whole company area
• South West Water – whole company area, excluding Bournemouth
• Thames Water – whole company area
• Wessex Water – whole company area

3. Area drought status

There have been no changes in area drought status this week:

Figure 1 – Environment Agency drought status

3.1 Areas in drought

• East Anglia
• Hertfordshire and North London
• Thames
• Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
• West Midlands
• Wessex
• Kent and South London
• Solent and South Downs
• East Midlands
• Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire

3.2 Areas in prolonged dry weather

• Northeast
• Yorkshire
• Cumbria and Lancashire
• Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

3.3 How the stages of drought response work

Each area is reviewing its status depending on the triggers they have outlined in their drought plan.

More detail of how we manage drought, including our 4 stages of drought response, is available in Drought: how it is managed in England.

4. Current water situation

Rainfall totals ranged from 14mm in east England to 46mm in the north-west as all parts of England received some rainfall during another wetter week. September so far has brought 27% of the LTA rainfall for the month to north-east England, and 45% of the LTA to the north-west. England as a whole has received 33% of the LTA for September after the first 8 days.

Following a second wet week, river flows increased at just over half of the sites we report on. The majority of sites are classed as normal or lower for the time of year, with 23 sites (42% of the total) classed as normal, 11 sites (20%) classed as below normal and 7 (13%) as notably low.

The seasonal recession of groundwater levels continued at many sites across England, with levels decreasing at almost all sites. Sites in chalk aquifers are all normal or lower for the time of year. In the Wessex Downs, Yorkshire Wolds, and North and South Downs, 4 sites are classed as notably low. Tilshead in the Upper Hampshire Avon Chalk is classed as exceptionally low. In the oolite limestone of the Cotswolds, groundwater levels at Jackaments Bottom are classed as exceptionally low for the time of year. In north-west England, Skirwith in the Carlisle Basin and Eden Valley Sandstone was classed as below normal.

Reservoir storage has continued to decline at the majority of reservoirs despite recent rainfall. Storage for England was 56.9% in the week ending 8 September, which is 19.7% below average for the time of year. Twelve reservoirs or reservoir groups are less than 50% full. Vyrnwy in Wales and Draycote in central England are the only reservoirs classed as normal for the time of year, with all others classed as below normal or lower. This includes 8 classed as exceptionally low for the time of year (Figure 2):

• Ardingly reservoir operated by South East Water
• Clatworthy reservoir operated by Wessex Water
• Clywedog operated by Hafren Dyfrdwy under direction of Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales
• Dove Group operated by Severn Trent Water – winter refill was impacted by water quality and operational issues
• Rutland Water operated by Anglian Water
• Hanningfield reservoir operated by Essex and Suffolk Water
• Haweswater and Thirlmere operated by United Utilities
• Wimbleball reservoir operated by South West Water

More details are available in our water situation reports for England.

Figure 2 – Reservoir stocks at key individual and groups of reservoirs for week ending 8 September 2026 as a percentage of total capacity and classed relative to an analysis of historic values

Classes shown may not necessarily relate to control curves or triggers for drought actions. As well as for public water supply, some reservoirs are drawn down to provide flood storage, river compensation flows or for reservoir safety inspections. In some cases, current reservoir operating rules may differ from historic ones.   

Kielder reservoir levels are lower than historic levels due to a new flood alleviation control curve in use. The Dee System, Elan Valley Group, Clywedog and Vyrnwy reservoirs provide water resources to central and north-west England. Teesdale Group is impacted by planned maintenance and safety works. The Dove Group and Lower Thames Group are impacted by a previously planned outage.  

5. Public water supply

With more seasonal average temperatures, TUBs in place and rainfall continuing across the country, demand for water has reduced. However, in some areas, it is still higher than expected.

Public water supply reservoir and groundwater storage continue to decline for several water companies. Further significant rainfall is needed to return to normal water resource conditions for many water companies. 

Water companies report their drought response using operational drought levels, from drought level (DL) 1 escalating to level 4. We expect water companies to follow their drought plans and act early to ensure there are sufficient supplies. 

We are regularly engaging with all water companies. The companies not included here are in business as usual (BAU). Further information on the situation can be found on each water company’s website. 

5.1 Affinity Water

The company remains in BAU in terms of its drought levels but is at its environmental trigger in its East region.

TUBs remain in place for customers in its Central region and East region, driven by high demand.

5.2 Anglian Water

Anglian Water remains at DL2 in its Fenland and Norfolk, Norwich and Broads water resource zones (WRZ). Ruthamford, Lincolnshire and Suffolk remain at DL1. TUBs remain in place across the whole company area, except for Hartlepool. 

5.3 Bristol Water

Bristol Water remains in BAU. TUBs remain in place for all customers to help protect flows on the River Severn, after an application for a drought order by the Environment Agency.

5.4 Cambridge Water

Cambridge Water remains at DL1. TUBs remain in place for all its customers. Demand has reduced but is still above average for the time of year.

5.5 Essex and Suffolk Water

Essex and Suffolk Water remains at DL2 in all WRZs. TUBs remain in place for all its customers. Demand has started to reduce but remains higher than average for the time of year. 

5.6 Northumbrian Water

Northumbrian Water remains at DL1 in all its WRZs.

5.7 Severn Trent Water

Severn Trent Water remains at DL1 in its North Staffs WRZ. Demand is lower than average for the time of year.  

5.8 Southern Water

Southern Water is at DL1 in its Hampshire and Isle of Wight WRZs. Other WRZs remain BAU. TUBs are still in force for customers in the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight area. The company applied to the Secretary of State for a drought order on the River Test and a non-essential drought order on 31 July. A public hearing was held on 25 August and additional information submitted on 27 August. We are awaiting the Secretary of State decision.

5.9 South East Water

South East Water remains at DL2 in its Eastbourne and Haywards Heath WRZs. All other WRZs remain at DL1. Company-wide TUBs remain in force. On 28 August South East Water applied to the Environment Agency for a drought permit on the River Ouse. Details about the drought permit proposal can be found on South East Water’s website.

5.10 South West Water

South West Water’s Colliford WRZ remains at DL1. Wimbleball and the Isle of Scilly remain at DL2. Other WRZs remain at BAU. TUBs remain in place for all South West Water customers, excluding Bournemouth. Demand on the Isle of Scilly has reduced to average for the time of year.

5.11 South Staffordshire Water

South Staffordshire Water remains at DL1.

5.12 Thames Water

Thames Water remains at DL2 in all its WRZs. Company-wide TUBs remain in force.

5.13 United Utilities

United Utilities Strategic Resource Zone remains at DL1. Carlisle WRZ remains in Enhanced Monitoring and Operations.

5.14 Veolia Water

Veolia Water remains at DL1.

5.15 Wessex Water

Wessex Water has moved into DL1b. Reservoir storage continues to decline. Company-wide TUBs remain in force. Demand has reduced from levels seen over summer, but it slightly above average for the time of year.

5.16 Yorkshire Water

Yorkshire Water remains at DL1 in its Grid WRZ. Demand has reduced to around average for the time of year. 

6. Agriculture

Some drought pressures have eased for the agriculture sector due to recent rainfall and the peak irrigation season passing, although this still varies depending on where recent rain has fallen across the country. There is still a focus on lifting root crops for harvesting. Farmers continue to face challenging conditions due to hard soil, especially where some abstraction restrictions remain that limit the availability of water to soften ground. To protect rivers from pollution, farmers are advised to assess ground and weather conditions before spreading organic manures, including slurries.

The availability of fodder for winter livestock feeding continues to be a concern due to the use of winter resources now to support animal condition. There is also concern in some areas about the ability to refill reservoirs.

There are 549 restrictions on abstraction licences. This is a small decrease from last week due to increased river flows in some catchments. Formal section 57 restrictions remain in place in parts of East Anglia until 31 October. 

There are 1,094 voluntary restrictions in place reducing abstraction by 50%, these are spread across Thames, Wye and Severn catchments. The Welches Dam restrictions in East Anglia have been removed. Potential voluntary restrictions may be requested in other areas such Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and Cheshire if the dry weather continues. We have received 35 flexible abstraction requests from the agriculture sector to date. The Environment Agency continues to work closely with abstractors and partners regarding the implementation of any formal restrictions.

7. Environment

Environmental impacts continue to increase, with confirmed drought and dry weather incidents rising across multiple areas. Low flows, fish mortality, algal blooms, water quality incidents and ecological impacts remain widespread despite recent rainfall.

Numbers of confirmed incidents caused by drought and dry weather have been steadily rising, with a total of 330 incidents recorded since the start of 2026. Current totals are above confirmed 2025 totals (288 incidents as of 7 September 2025).

There has been a slight increase in confirmed algae and fish death incidents this week. These have been attributed to drought and dry weather since the start of 2026 (31 algae incidents, an increase of 3 on last week, and 70 fish death incidents, an increase of 19 on last week). Blue green algae continues to affect a 10km stretch of the Lower Thames including the Ham and Kingston bathing water.

There have been 156 confirmed abstraction or low flow incidents, with highest numbers in West Midlands, Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, Hertfordshire & North London, and Thames areas. Confirmed abstraction or low-flow incidents are now similar to equivalent totals from 2025. The number of estimated and confirmed are now well above confirmed numbers for September 2025. 

The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales applied for River Severn Drought Order (RSDO) on 17 August 2026. An appeals hearing with an independent inspector occurred on 3 September 2026. We are awaiting recommendations to be sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Natural Resources Wales. A decision is expected next week. We continue to work with water companies and the Canal and Rivers Trust on the impact the drought order would have on their abstractions.

8. Navigation

The Canal and River Trust water resource position remains poor. Reservoir-fed canals are particularly affected with reservoir feeds being restricted and compensation flows reduced. Recent rainfall has had a variable impact. We are seeing some improvements in the more reactive reservoirs in northern canal sections including the full reopening of Lancaster canal. However, despite the rain, many canals have not seen any noticeable improvements.

Environment Agency navigation closures have eased in parts of Yorkshire but remain in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and North London and the lower Thames. In Kent, fish and canoe passes have been closed on the River Medway and weed growth remains present in some other areas. There are issues maintaining the published navigation depth at several locations on the Medway and low-level alarm thresholds have been reached at 2 of the 10 monitoring sites in the area.

9. Weather forecast

Friday will be fine with sunny spells for many, with the chance of showers in the morning in the north and west. Saturday will be wet, with a frontal system moving south-east across the UK, which will be followed by sunshine and showers. It will be dry for most on Sunday. From Monday conditions are expected to remain changeable with rain and showers arriving from the Atlantic, with the most frequent rain across the north and west UK. In between these systems, conditions will be reasonably dry and settled, particularly in southern areas.

10. Drought readiness actions

The Environment Agency has activated its incident response arrangements, with Gold Command structures in place and drought plans being implemented to support early intervention and coordinated action.

Enhanced communications activity being taken includes:

• issuing press notices and holding media briefings
• increasing engagement with stakeholders, local partners and MPs
• publishing a weekly drought update on GOV.UK

The Environment Agency has strengthened environmental monitoring, increasing both surveillance and operational interventions to identify, assess and mitigate potential environmental impacts as drought conditions develop.

The National Drought Group continues to meet weekly to monitor risks, preparation and impacts of the ongoing drought. A meeting is being held on 10 September with a focus on agriculture. The next meeting will be held on 15 September and will focus on public water supply and will discuss updated drought projections for autumn and winter. 

11. Contact us

Contact drought.national@environment-agency.gov.uk if you have questions about this report.