Tag Archives: Drought

Long term warning as drought spreads

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People and businesses urged to use water wisely as Environment Agency warns drought could last beyond Christmas. Seventeen counties in South West England and the Midlands have moved into official drought status, after two dry winters have left rivers and ground waters depleted. While public water supplies in these areas are unlikely to be affected, the lack of rain is taking its toll on the environment and farmers – causing problems for wildlife, wetlands and crop production. The Environment Agency is urging businesses, water companies and consumers to all play their part by using water wisely, to help conserve precious water supplies. Read more on the Environment Agency website… 

Risk of flooding despite continued drought

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Drought could make any flooding worse, warns Environment Agency. The Environment Agency has warned today that drought conditions can increase the risk of flash flooding. Dry, compacted soils mean that water is less easily absorbed into the ground, and so any future storms could lead to a greater risk of flash flooding.
The Environment Agency’s warning comes on the day that the world’s first social media flood warning application has been launched on Facebook.
‘FloodAlerts’ is a free to use application and was created and developed by a leading software developer specialising in online mapping and data visualisation solutions.
Craig Woolhouse, Environment Agency Head of Flood Incident Management, said:
“As the drought in England continues, the thought of flooding may be far from people’s minds, but we cannot ignore the risk. Dry and compacted ground means that there is a greater risk of flash flooding if there is heavy rainfall, and stormy seas and high tides can produce floods at any time”. Read more on the Environment Agency website…

Business must play its part during drought

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Businesses must join households in helping to conserve water supplies, says the Environment Agency. The call comes as a hosepipe ban affecting 20 million consumers in the South East and East Anglia comes into force. The Environment Agency is encouraging all businesses to carry out a water audit of the workplace to establish where these savings can be made, for example by identifying leaks in need of repair. Read more on the Environment Agency website…

Save water now to limit the effects of drought says Spelman

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Everyone must find a way to save water to help limit the effects of drought, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said today following a major summit. This came on the same day it was announced that the South East is now officially in drought. The summit, which was called by the Environment Secretary after another year of much lower than average rainfall, brought together key players in the water industry to discuss what is already being done to tackle drought and to decide upon actions that need to be taken to mitigate against its impact in the future. Read more on the DeFRA website… 

Water reform needed to tackle threat of future droughts

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Britain faces a future of water shortages, and lasting environmental damage, with some rivers running dry, unless attitudes to water use change, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman cautioned today. Launching a new approach to water management, Mrs Spelman said that severe weather events, population growth and the need to grow more food will all put more pressure on our water supplies. Read more on the DeFRA website…