Research and analysis

Midlands water situation: July 2026 summary

Updated 12 August 2026

Applies to England

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

1. Summary

July was an exceptionally dry month, with all the hydrological areas receiving below average rainfall. The Midlands area received 3% of the long-term average (LTA) rainfall. Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) continued to increase in all areas of the Midlands and by the end of July, soils across the midlands were drier than expected for the time of year. Monthly mean river flows decreased at all the indicator sites, and half of the sites were classed as notably low. Groundwater levels were classed as normal or higher at most reported sites despite groundwater levels decreasing in all but one site. Reservoir storage decreased across all 10 reservoirs during July, with storage levels remaining below average for the time of year.

2. Rainfall

July was a dry month with rainfall classed as exceptionally low in all hydrological areas. The Midlands receiving 1.9mm of rainfall which represents 3% of the LTA. The driest hydrological area by percentage of LTA was Avon to Evesham in the West Midlands area which received 1% of LTA (0.9mm). By contrast, the hydrological area with the most rainfall was the Welsh Mountains also in the West Midlands which received 12% of the LTA (10.6mm).

Over the last 3 months, cumulative rainfall was classed as exceptionally low in parts of both the West and East Midlands, including the Lower Trent, Welsh Mountains and Mid Severn hydrological areas. Notably low rainfall totals were observed across much of the Midlands. In contrast, below normal rainfall totals were recorded in the Derwent, Dove, and Upper Trent hydrological areas, representing the highest rainfall classifications across the Midlands.

In the past 6 months, 8 of 12 hydrological areas recorded below normal rainfall totals. The remaining 4 hydrological areas situated around the north-central region of the Midlands recorded normal rainfall totals.

During the 12-month cumulative period, most hydrological areas recorded normal or higher rainfall totals. Derwent and Dove recorded notably high rainfall totals, and the Lower Trent, Upper Trent, Tame and Lower Severn recorded above normal rainfall totals.

3. Soil moisture deficit

Throughout the Midlands, SMD continued to increase during July due to sustained high temperatures combined with a lack of recent rainfall. At the end of July, most areas recorded between 101mm and 160mm of SMD.

Soils were considerably drier than expected for the time of year across all areas of the Midlands particularly in West Midlands.

4. River flows

In July, mean river flows decreased at all indicator sites and were predominantly classed as notably low or exceptionally low across the Midlands. Ten sites were classed as notably low. Six other sites were classed as exceptionally low. Two sites, Derwent at Derby St Mary’s and Avon at Stareton were classed as below normal. A further 2 sites, Avon at Evesham and Ryton at Worksop recorded normal flows.

River flows were generally lowest across the western parts of the Midlands area, with several sites classed as notably low or exceptionally low. In contrast, flows were relatively higher across central and eastern hydrological areas, where sites predominantly recorded below normal or normal mean river flow.

With the exception of the Avon at Evesham, Torne at Auckley, and Ryton at Worksop which were classed as normal, all other indicator sites were classed as below normal or lower for the time of year. 

As the Deerhurst gauging station is currently down, data from the nearby Haw Bridge station has been used to provide a representative indication of river flow conditions in this area. Wedderburn Bridge has been excluded from this report due to ongoing concerns regarding data reliability.

5. Groundwater levels   

At the end of July, all Midlands groundwater sites recorded normal or higher groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Ram Hall, St Mary’s Church and Rider Point in the central part of the region were classed as normal. Two sites, Weir Farm and Four Crosses in the north-west of the Midlands, were classed as above normal. Anthonys Cross in south-western Midlands and Crossely Hill in the north-east of the Midlands were classed as notably high. Southards Lane was classed as below normal while Coxmoor also in the north-east of Midlands recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels. 

Groundwater levels in sites within the sandstone aquifers were mostly classed as above normal or higher. In contrast, groundwater levels in the limestone and mudstone aquifers were generally classed as normal or below normal. The highest groundwater levels were observed in the north and west of the area where Coxmoor was classed as exceptionally high, Crossley Hill and Anthonys Cross were classed as notably high.

6. Reservoir stocks

All 10 reservoirs are at below average storage for this time of the year.  

All reservoirs had storage levels decrease compared to end of June. The biggest drop is Clywedog with 29% and the smallest is Draycote by 7%. All reservoirs had storage between 39% to 81% by the end of July.

7. Environmental impact 

West Midlands area moved to drought incident status on 28 July whilst East Midlands moved into Prolonged Dry Weather on 29 July. We continue to work with water companies and other abstractors to manage water resources and take precautionary actions to ensure the needs of water users and the environment are met.

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. Regulation was instigated when flows dropped below the threshold on 20 June 2026 and as of the end of July there have been 42 days of Severn Regulation so far.

9. River Wye operations

In July 2026, regulation releases were in operation. These occurred from 1 July to 31 July. 

10. Water abstraction restrictions

As of 30 July, there are 137 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 554 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.