River-flow rates in England at lowest point since 2002, data shows

theguardian.com:

River-flow rates in England have been lower this summer than at any time in the past 21 years, data has shown, and could be much worse next year, with dire impacts on wildlife and the natural environment, conservation experts have warned.

Analysis since 2002 of England’s groundwater, reservoir levels and river flows – three key indicators for the severity of drought, and for river health – shows that July this year was the worst in that period.

River flows this July were lower than normal in 88% of rivers, and reservoir levels stood at about 64% of their capacity, the lowest level in the past two decades. Groundwater was at its fourth lowest level, with about two-thirds of sites showing lower groundwater levels than normal.

The analysis, seen by the Guardian and coordinated by Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), based on Environment Agency monthly water situation reports from July in each year, showed that this year has been the worst overall for drought when ranked across the indicators.

Ellie Ward, policy and information coordinator at WCL, said: “Our resilience to drought is not good enough. This puts nature and people at risk of running out of water. We need ambitious, holistic action to build that resilience and to secure a clean and plentiful water supply.”

Experts also warned that this year’s drought may not be a one-off but could be the start of a three-year drought cycle, which has struck three times in the past two decades, in 2004-06, 2010-12 and 2017-19, as the WCL analysis shows.

If that is the case, water levels and river-flow levels would get much worse next year, which would spell disaster for swathes of England’s wildlife and the natural environment. Fish and other aquatic life, and the ecosystems that