Region's reservoirs full but water shortage risk in some places

Properties in Shropshire and the Wyre Forest are supplied by a combination of Severn Trent Water's Trimpley Reservoir in Bewdley, boreholes and rivers. Stafford is supplied by boreholes while most of the Black Country is supplied by South Staffs Water which has Blithfield Reservoir near Rugeley and Chelmarsh Reservoir near Bridgnorth.

Severn Trent Water said its reservoir levels are currently more than 95 per cent full despite less rainfall earlier this year.

The Environment Agency has said that nationally water levels were just below at 94 per cent, compared to a low of 49 per cent last September.

Stocks were largely replenished throughout March, which was the wettest on record, increasing by seven per cent, and water levels rose in all but two reservoirs in England.

However, it followed the driest February on record and experts have warned that the country cannot rely on the weather to avoid droughts this summer.

The figures show that there are still large discrepancies across the country with regions including the South West and East Anglia experiencing low water levels.

In a statement Severn Trent explained: “Reservoir levels across the Severn Trent region are in excellent shape at over 95 per cent capacity. This is thanks to the hard work of our operational teams over the winter months, the millions of pounds we have spent moving water around the network and the outstanding response from our customers in thinking about their water usage through last year’s hot and dry summer.

“While the recent wet weather in March and April also helped to top up reservoirs, the region only had 17 per cent of the rainfall we would expect in February and after the record-breaking hot summer last year, it is exceedingly important that everybody continues to think about the ways that we use water.

“Severn Trent hasn’t put a hosepipe ban in place in our region for nearly 30 years - since 1995 - and if we all continue to work together, there’s no reason to believe that we will need one in 2023.”

In Wales reservoir levels almost 100 per cent full.

Meanwhile the National Drought Group (NDG) said it was preparing for the "worst case scenario" of a hot and dry summer this year and urged the public to use water "carefully".

Environment Agency executive director and NDG chairman John Leyland said: "Whilst water levels have improved across most of the country, a dry February followed by an particularly wet March has highlighted that we cannot rely on the weather alone to preserve our most precious resource ahead of summer.

"We all owe it to the environment and wildlife to continue to use water carefully to protect our precious rivers, lakes and groundwater."

The Government's Water Minister Rebecca Pow added that the UK should approach the "improving drought situation carefully".