Research and analysis

North East water situation: April 2026 summary

Updated 13 May 2026

Applies to England

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

1. Summary

April was a dry month with below average rainfall recorded across all catchments. Cumulative 3-month rainfall totals fell from notably high and above normal last month to within the normal range across the whole area. Monthly mean river flows decreased across all indicator sites, falling within the normal or below normal range. Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) increased across the area. Reservoir stocks decreased though remained above average for the time of year. Groundwater levels varied.

2. Rainfall

Monthly rainfall totals were below the long term average (LTA) across all catchments in the area. Totals for Seaham and Tees catchments were classed as notably low and below normal for all other catchments. Monthly totals ranged from 27% of the LTA in the Seaham catchment to 64% of the LTA in the Tyne catchment. Analysis of the daily rainfall totals shows that smaller rainfall totals were recorded across the area in the first 15 days with highest totals of the month generally recorded on 16 April. The remainder of the month was predominantly dry with little or no rainfall recorded on most days.

Cumulative 3 month totals were classed as normal across the whole area. Cumulative 6 month totals were classed as notably high across all catchments with the exception of Seaham which fell within the above normal range.

3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge

Soils became drier this month with the SMDs increasing across all catchments. The SMD was classed as 41mm to 70mm in the Seaham catchment and between 11mm and 40mm across all other catchments.

4. River flows

Monthly mean river flows decreased across all indicator sites this month falling within the normal and below normal ranges. Monthly mean flows ranged from 24% of the LTA at Hartford Bridge in the River Blyth catchment to 87% of the LTA at Middleton in Teesdale in the River Tees catchment.

Analysis of daily mean flows shows that flows were in the normal range across all sites at the beginning of April. Daily mean flows generally decreased over the first 2 weeks of the month. A small increase in daily mean flows was recorded on 16 April following a period of rainfall. Following this period flows decreased steadily towards the end of the month with all indicator sites falling within the normal, below normal or notably low ranges at the end of April.

5. Groundwater levels   

Groundwater levels varied across the area this month. Groundwater levels increased at Red Lion, Townlaw and West Hall Farm. Levels decreased at Aycliffe and Royalty Observation. Aycliffe on the Skerne Magnesian Limestone still remains in the notably high banding and Townlaw on the Till Fell Sandstone remains in the below normal banding. All other indicator sites were classed as above normal for April.

6. Reservoir stocks

All reservoirs recorded a decrease in reservoir stocks this month with the exception of Kielder which remained the same as last month. The largest decrease was recorded at the North Tynedale group which fell from 95.4% to 88.2% at the end of April. All reservoir stocks remained above average for the time of year.

Reservoir or reservoir group	Percentage of current stocks	Percentage of previous month stocks
Kielder	92.6	92.6
North Tynedale group	88.2	95.4
Derwent	89.4	90.7
Durham group	92.9	99.7
Lune and Balder group	91.5	97.4
Cow Green	95	100

Author: Environment Agency, hydrology.northeast@environment-agency.gov.uk

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.