UK drought: How reservoir levels in Nottinghamshire are faring after dry spring creates fear of hose pipe ban
It’s been the driest spring in 60 years
Severn Trent is asking customers to be “water-wise” after the driest spring in more than 60 years.
In England, March was the driest since 1961 and April received just half its normal rainfall.
The Environment Agency has warned that England faces a “medium risk” of drought this summer, with the potential for hose pipe bans to be issued.
Steph Cawley, Customer Operations Director at Severn Trent, said: “People tend to think Britain gets more than its fair share of rain yet, as recent weather shows, that is not always the case.
“We have 66 reservoirs at Severn Trent and draw water from a mix of other sources, including rivers, springs and boreholes, which means supplies are resilient during drier and hotter weather.
“We have experts managing the flow of water on our huge network around the clock, helping to ensure everyone has enough supplies when they need it.
“We’re also proud to have among the highest quality drinking water in the world too, ahead of countries like Sweden, Portugal and Australia, while our average supply outage lasts less than five minutes - 20 minutes less than Spain.
“But, however prepared we are, we cannot guarantee rain so we encourage customers to continue to play their part in saving water where they can.”
Water storage levels for Severn Trent
As of May 12, the water storage levels in the Severn Trent region are at 81.7% of capacity.
This includes four reservoirs - Ogston, Tittesworth, Elan Valley and Draycote.
The most-filled reservoir is currently Draycote, which is 94.4% full.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, Goston reservoir is at just 69.2% capacity.