Research and analysis

Midlands water situation: March 2026 summary

Updated 14 April 2026

Applies to England

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

1. Summary

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

Rainfall – Over March, the majority of the Midlands received normal rainfall totals for the time of year.

Soil moisture deficit – At the end of March soil moisture deficit (SMD) measured between 11mm and 40mm across all areas of the Midlands. SMD was therefore average for the time of year.

River flows – In March the majority of sites recorded normal flows compared to the long term average (LTA). The remainder mostly recorded above normal flows but 2 recorded notably high flows.

Groundwater levels – Most sites recorded notably high groundwater levels in March.

Reservoir stocks – All reservoirs apart from Dove were at average or above average storage capacity by the end of March.

2. Rainfall

Over March, the majority of the Midlands received normal rainfall totals for the time of year. These totals ranged from 64% to 102% of the LTA. The exceptions were the Lower Severn and Avon hydrological areas, which received below normal rainfall totals. All but 2 of the Midlands hydrological areas received less than 100% of their LTA rainfall. This means that for most of the areas, March was a little drier than average, but not unusually so.

Over the last 3 months, all hydrological areas received exceptionally high rainfall totals apart from Welsh Mountains, which received above normal rainfall totals. This is likely a result of the high rainfall totals received last month: the fourth wettest February since records began in 1872. January also saw higher than average rainfall in most hydrological areas. Additionally, it has been the wettest 3-month period since records began for the Tame catchment.

Over the last 6 months, rainfall totals in the Midlands hydrological areas were mostly exceptionally high. Only Welsh Mountains and Lower Wye did not fit into this banding, but they received notably high rainfall totals. Over this time there were several intense rainfall events across the Midlands, the cumulative impacts of which can be seen in the 6-month totals.

Over the last 12 months, the southern half of the Midlands received normal rainfall totals compared to the 12-month LTA. The northern half mostly received above normal totals apart from Derwent, which received notably high totals.

3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge

SMD has increased in most hydrological areas since February, now measuring between 11mm and 40mm. This meant that soils in these catchments had become drier over March. The exceptions are the north-western catchments and 2 of the north-eastern catchments, which retained a deficit less than or equal to 10mm. Comparison to the LTA shows that all catchments have a deficit of -5mm to 5mm from the LTA. This means that soils are as expected for this time of year. The Lower Trent catchment is now closer to its LTA for the month than it was in February.

4. River flows

Over March most sites recorded normal flows for the time of year, ranging from 93% to 116% of the LTA. Seven sites recorded above normal flows, mostly located in the south-eastern and south-western parts of the Midlands region. These sites all recorded over 120% of the LTA. The remaining 2 sites Clifton Hall and Worksop recorded notably high flows.

Wedderburn Bridge has been showing unreliable data from September 2024 onwards; therefore data has been removed from this report.

5. Groundwater levels   

The majority of sites across the Midlands recorded notably high groundwater levels for March. Exceptions were Ram Hall (which recorded normal levels) and Southards Lane and Crossley Hill (which both recorded above normal levels). Groundwater levels have therefore mostly remained quite high since the winter.

6. Reservoir stocks

All reservoirs had storage of between 93% and 100% by the end of March except for Dove reservoir, which had 67% of storage. Both Tittesworth and Blithfield were at full storage capacity. All sites had average or above storage for the time of year except for Dove, which had below average storage.

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 March.

9. River Wye operations

Throughout March, flows at Redbrook were above the regulation threshold and storage at Elan reservoirs was above the release control line. Therefore, regulation releases were not in operation during March.

10. Water abstraction restrictions

As of 7 April there are 6 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 12 licences in total. Two of the restrictions are located in West Midlands and the remaining 4 are located in East Midlands.

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.