The Ardingly reservoir has plummeted to just 19% capacity following England's hottest summer, starkly below the 75% level typically expected by the Environment Agency for this time of year. While this acute shortage is mirrored across large parts of England and Wales, local frustration is intensified by the fact that the nearby Weir Wood reservoir holds ample water but cannot distribute it due to a shuttered treatment plant. Recovering from the regional deficit will demand 120% of average rainfall by April, a target recent storms have failed to advance. With long-term infrastructure remedies years away, government recommendations to stockpile essentials have heightened local anxiety.
Key points
Water experts assess that regions will need 120% of typical rainfall before April to full…: Water experts assess that regions will need 120% of typical rainfall before April to fully exit drought conditions.
Decades of underinvestment, leaks, and growing demand from datacentres and population gro…: Decades of underinvestment, leaks, and growing demand from datacentres and population growth continue to compound supply strains.
Southern Water does not expect to complete the reconstruction of the essential Weir Wood…: Southern Water does not expect to complete the reconstruction of the essential Weir Wood treatment facility until 2030.
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“You can see the water level at Ardingly going down and down. I don’t remember ever seeing it this low,” says Caroline Allan, a lifetime resident of Haywards Heath, the nearest town to one of England’s most depleted reservoirs.
The Ardingly reservoir, managed by South East Water and serving about 95,000 properties in and around Haywards Heath and Uckfield in Sussex, is currently 19% full.
The day the Guardian visited, the weather was grey and rainy, incongruous with the muddy reservoir bed that should have been submerged under six metres of water.
Earlier this month a severe drought was declared in parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, with urgent measures being taken to secure public water supplies after the UK experienced its hottest summer on record.
Severe drought is the highest level of drought and is declared when evidence shows drought is causing or will soon cause serious harm, and when emergency action is needed to protect people, water supplies, the environment, farming, infrastructure or other critical services.
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