Research and analysis

Midlands water situation: April 2026 summary

Updated 13 May 2026

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

1. Summary

Please see Section 7.3 of the full report for a map detailing the Midlands regional coverage of this report.

Rainfall – In April, catchments in the Midlands received either below normal or notably low rainfall amounts for this time of year.

Soil moisture deficit – Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) in April recorded higher than average across all Midlands catchments. This means soils were drier than average for April.

River flows – The majority of sites recorded normal flows in April. Six remaining sites recorded below normal flows. All sites recorded below 100% of their long term average (LTA).

Groundwater levels – Groundwater sites in April ranged from exceptionally high groundwater levels to normal groundwater levels. The majority of sites recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA.

Reservoir stocks – Reservoir storage levels across the Midlands ranged from 75% to 99% by the end of April.

2. Rainfall

In April, 6 catchments in the Midlands recorded below normal rainfall totals compared to their LTA. These catchments tended to concentrate in the west of the Midlands, but includes Dove and Derwent in the east. These totals ranged from 43% to 55% of their LTA. The other 6 catchments, trending towards the east half of the Midlands, recorded notably low rainfall amounts compared to their LTA. These catchments ranged from 28% to 41% of their LTA.

Over the last 3 months, most catchments recorded above normal rainfall totals compared to their 3-month LTA. Four remaining catchments, the Welsh Mountains, Mid Severn, Lower Wye and Avon catchments, recorded normal rainfall totals compared to their 3-month LTA.

Over the past 6 months, every catchment, except for the Welsh Mountains, recorded exceptionally high rainfall totals compared to the 6-month LTA. The Welsh recorded notably high rainfall totals compared to its 6-month LTA.

Over the past year, 6 catchments recorded normal rainfall totals compared to their 1-year LTA. Five catchments recorded above normal rainfall totals compared to the 1-year LTA. These were the Dove, Upper Trent, Tame and Lower Trent in the north half of the Midlands, and the Welsh Mountains to the west. The Derwent catchment in the north of the Midlands was the only catchment to record notably high rainfall totals compared to the 1-year LTA.

3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge

SMD has increased across all hydrological areas since March. Most sites in April, excluding the Welsh Mountains, are measuring between 41mm and 70mm of SMD. The Welsh Mountains is recording between 11mm and 40mm. This means that soils have become drier over April. Last month, soils were as expected compared to the LTA. This April, the soils in the north and west of the Midlands recorded a 6mm to 25mm difference from the LTA. Soils in the south recorded a 26mm to 50mm difference from the LTA. This means that soils, especially in the south, have been drier compared to the LTA.

4. River flows

In April the majority of sites recorded normal flows for this time of year. These ranged from 58% to 86% of their LTA. Six of the remaining sites recorded below normal flows compared to their LTA, ranging from 54% to 68%.

Deerhurst gauging station is currently down, and the data has been substituted with flows from the nearby gauging station Haw Bridge. Wedderburn Bridge has been showing unreliable data from September 2024 onwards; therefore, its data has been removed from this report.

5. Groundwater levels   

Groundwater sites in the Midlands ranged from exceptionally high to normal groundwater levels in April. Coxmoor, in the north, recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to its LTA. Four sites in the west of the Midlands, Weir Farm, Four Crosses, St Marys Church and Anthonys Cross all recorded notably high groundwater levels in April. Rider Point and Crossley Hill in the north both recorded above normal groundwater levels. Southards Lane and Ram Hall are both recording normal groundwater levels compared to their April LTA.

6. Reservoir stocks

All reservoirs had storage between 86% and 99% by the end of April except for Dove reservoir, which had 75% storage. Five reservoirs are at below average storage for this time of year. Two sites are at average storage, and the remaining 3 sites are at above average storage for this time of year.

7. Environmental impact 

The East Midlands moved from drought recovery status into normal incident status on 6 February 2026. The West Midlands moved from drought recovery status into normal incident status on 10 February 2026. We continue to work with water companies and other abstractors to manage water resources.

8. River Severn operations

The River Severn is regulated to maintain a minimum flow at Bewdley gauging station. This ensures sufficient water flows along the river to support environmental and water supply requirements. Regulation is instigated when flows drop below a threshold. River Severn regulation was not instigated in April.

9. River Wye operations

Throughout April, flows at Redbrook were above the regulation threshold. Therefore, regulation releases were not in operation during April.

10. Water abstraction restrictions

As of 30 April there are 5 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 5 licences in total.

Author: Midlands Hydrology, midlandshydrology@environment-agency.gov.uk

Contact Details: 03708 506 506

Disclaimer: All data are provisional and may be subject to revision. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Environment Agency. Its officers, servants or agents accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from the interpretation or use of the information, or reliance upon views contained in this report.