There are currently no plans to introduce an imminent hosepipe ban in Wales despite weeks of dry weather and other parts of the UK already limiting supply. South West Water which supplies the south west of England has been in an official drought period since August 2022 with a hosepipe ban in place in Cornwall and North Devon.
In April 2023 restrictions were extended to north, west and mid Devon while reservoir levels remain to recover. However in Wales, despite a very dry spring, there is no imminent plans to introduce the same restrictions.
After an incredibly hot summer in 2022 which saw temperatures well above 30C in parts and the hottest day on record, by September Natural Resources Wales declared that the whole country was under drought status. As reservoir levels slowly recovered this was lifted by January 2023.
Read next: Europe is on the verge of a catastrophic drought
The prolonged dry period led to exceptionally low river flows, low groundwater levels and a decline in reservoir levels right across the country, with most well below average for the time of year. These conditions exacerbated pressures on our land, habitats, species, wildlife and water supplies, and led to the first ‘official’ drought to be declared across Wales since 2005/2006.
However, after the wettest March since records began spring has been very dry, with questions now being asked as to whether Wales will once again be placed under drought restrictions. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said that at the moment they have not been told of any imminent plans to declare a drought which would then lead to the enactment of water restrictions such as a hosepipe ban across Wales. NRW is not the responsible body for imposing hosepipe bans and this falls to water companies.
Should water companies such as Welsh Water believe one to be necessary, a task force with representatives from themselves, NRW and The Welsh Government is created. NRW’s definition of drought differs to water companies’ definitions of drought.
NRW’s drought threshold is met when a range of environmental factors are triggered, such as significant periods of low river levels, shortage of rainfall, impacts on ecosystems land and the agricultural sector and when there is a high risk to people’s well-being.
They also don’t use a single definition for drought so whilst it’s caused by a period of low rainfall, the nature, timing and impacts on people, the environment, agriculture or business will vary.
Some droughts are short and intense like a hot, dry summer, while others are long and take time to develop over multiple seasons. Different actions are needed at different times as prolonged dry weather escalates. The sequence of actions will not always be the same.
Caroline Harris, water resources team leader for NRW said: “Our officers are sitting on the Wales Drought Liaison Group along with the Welsh Government, water companies, the Met Office and other partners to plan ahead for all weather scenarios. Our role in the group is to feed in on the environmental perspective.
“Environmentally, Wales is in a ‘normal’ status at the moment. Our position, however, could change without any notable rainfall. As a result we are monitoring the situation closely alongside the Wales Drought Liaison Group. With weather becoming harder to predict with wetter winters and drier summers, we all need to do what we can to conserve water, regardless of drought status.”
Read next:
- The Welsh community living side-by-side with huge wild snakes
- Scores of Welsh passengers say they were left stranded in Somerset after paddle-steamer trip
- The neighbourhood in Wales with the most anti-social behaviour
- Former First Minister Jones interviewed for big WRU job
- Mini village proposal would see people live in cabins in national park for nearly two years
