Action needed to save water, minister tells MPs

Minister warns people to save water amid drought Image source, Reuters Image caption, Severe drought conditions have been declared across parts of southern England By Britta Zeltmann South West Published 16 October 2026, 11:25 BST 226 Comments Updated 23 minutes ago The government is urging people to save water as it warns action is needed to prevent severe drought conditions becoming "the new normal". Water and flooding minister Emma Hardy told MPs current drought conditions "is something we have not experienced for decades" and urged people to "think about ways to use water wisely over the coming weeks". Severe drought was declared across parts of southern England on Thursday after months of low rainfall, with around 50 million people now impacted. Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex are all affected by the move announced by the Environment Agency. The government said supplies would not be interrupted but declaring severe drought would ensure "proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs". Speaking in the House of Commons, Hardy said the measures were down to "exceptionally low rainfall" and depleted reservoir levels. The minister noted Yorkshire also moved into drought status last week. "That means over 80% of England is now in drought, affecting around 50 million people," she said. "The South East and South West, in particular, have experienced their driest April to September in over a century." Robbie Moore, shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs, accused the government of being "slow to react" to the conditions. "This is the third drought in five years, it should not have caught the government off guard," he told MPs. The latest figures , external for Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor show it is at 14.9% capacity, while Ardingly in West Sussex is 19.4% full. Other major reservoirs are also low, including Roadford in Devon at 36.8%, Burrator at 33.6%, Colliford in Cornwall at 35% and Stithians at 21.9%. Wimbleball serves about 300,000 properties across east Devon, north Devon, Somerset, west Dorset and west Somerset, while Ardingly Reservoir supplies 280,000. As part of the severe drought conditions, water companies have been asked to conduct daily monitoring of these reservoir levels along with tougher monitoring of water quality. The Environment Agency is also expected to increase compliance checks on businesses withdrawing water from natural sources to ensure they only take permitted quantities. It said "small changes" including by taking shorter showers, fixing leaks and turning off taps while brushing teeth could "make a real difference". "These aren't token gestures," the agency said. "They cut the amount of water we need to take from rivers and groundwater, protecting supplies for people and leaving more for wildlife, wetlands and the natural systems we all depend on." Related topics Cornwall Devon Drought Dorset More on this story How we got to severe drought and what is next Published 2 hours ago Lake too shallow for water sports as levels drop Published 7 days ago Wettest winter 'stark reminder' of climate change Published 19 March River levels 'exceptionally low' as drought bites Published 24 August Drought leaves sports clubs 'praying for rain' Published 22 August Related internet links Environment Agency Met Office