The National Drought Group has inspected England’s water position and found it generally favourable, which is the official way of saying the country is not currently in trouble but should keep a bag packed. The Environment Agency said on 19 June 2026 that the group had met after a dry spring and recent heatwave. Water resources remained relatively healthy after an exceptionally wet winter, but Southern England had received only 50% of average recent rainfall, East Anglia was heading back towards prolonged dry weather and Devon and Cornwall were on a watchlist.
The national water position now resembles a family argument conducted through weather systems. Northern England received 90% of average rainfall, while the south was left examining the sky for signs that it had been forgotten. Six consecutive days above 30°C in parts of the country in late May added another note to the report, alongside the small complication that June had also managed to become wet. Britain has apparently hired weather that cannot agree on a meeting time.
This is what the Environment Agency calls weather whiplash. Britain calls it Tuesday with improved stationery. The group is monitoring rainfall, river flows, reservoirs and groundwater while working with water companies and farmers on drought plans. Reservoir storage stood at 88.6%, which sounds reassuring until the forecast begins treating percentages as a personal challenge and every sunny afternoon starts looking like an invoice.
The public has also been invited to make small changes, including fixing leaking toilets, using water butts and choosing economical washing machine settings. A leaking toilet can waste up to 400 litres a day, allowing one faulty bathroom fitting to make a more sustained contribution to national water demand than several public consultations. Somewhere, a tap is quietly outperforming the entire machinery of public reassurance.
Officials are preparing for the possibility of a dry and hot summer, including the risk of a flash drought. The sensible response is to use water carefully and take the warnings seriously. The less sensible response is to wait until the reservoirs are empty, then establish a National Emergency Group to investigate why nobody had thought to ask the water where it was going. Its first meeting will be held outdoors, provided the weather has not cancelled the room.
Source: GOV.UK.
