Bewl Water reservoir at Lamberhurst

by Martin Jefferies

We're now officially in a drought, it's been announced today.

A crisis meeting held with DeFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) today says the South East has officially been classed as drought-ridden.

That is classified after prolonged periods of dry weather - but it won't mean water restrictions unless there's a sustained lack of rainfall before April.

Two dry winters have contributed to very low rivers and groundwater levels in some areas - with Kent's rivers and reservoirs remaining exceptionally low.

The last 10 months have been the driest since 1888 and, in January, rainfall was 66% below average.

That has left Bewl Water reservoir at Lamberhurst, which supplies Medway and Thanet, just 40% full - while groundwater reserves are severely depleted.

Today's summit, which has been organised by Defra, will discuss the likelihood of drought and talk about ways of tackling the problem.

It comes less than a week after Southern Water applied for permission to pump more water from the River Medway - itself below normal levels.

South East Water was granted a similar drought permit in November in a bid to protect water supplies at Ardingly reservoir, West Sussex.

The company had argued that without a permit, the reservoir would be empty in less than six weeks - affecting as many as 65,000 homes.

Protect Kent, the local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said extracting water from the Medway could affect the biological and chemical quality of the river.

More investment is needed in large-scale water resource schemes to stop water companies having to resort to emergency measures, it said.

Jamie Weir, a spokesman for the group, added: "We're extremely concerned by this situation.

"Both the government and local authorities must act to make sure that building within this water-stressed area is sustainable and appropriate.

"Without action, drought permits may become a normal way of life."

Meyrick Gough, water strategy manager at Southern Water, said: "If the permit is granted, water will be conserved in the reservoir and will help secure supplies.

"This is a precautionary measure which we hope will reduce the chances of us having to restrict customers' water use through the summer.

"We have applied for this permit now because taking water in winter is less likely to have any impact on the environment."