Bristol Water's Reservoirs are now below 80%

24 June 2010

This is Chew Lake reservoir in the Mendips, ten miles south of Bristol. This is not a current picture but is from the 1990s and is a graphic reminder of what drought can look like.

Bristol Water's reservoirs continue to drop steadily as demand soars.

They are now 79% full on average, 3% down on last week and just 1% higher than this time last year.

There have now been six consecutive months of significantly below average rainfall. The soil moisture defecit (a measure of its dryness) was about 80 mm in May, twice the average -- indicating that only average rainfall in June would produce little or no inflow to the reservoirs.

Meanwhile, demand has risen steadily along with the temperatures, and has been running at over 300 million litres a day sometimes.

If the next few months follow the same pattern, and there does not appear to be any forecast of substantial rainfall, the dry period could develop into a moderately severe drought.

At least one water company elsewhere in the country has already applied for drought powers.

Bristol Water says there is no cause for real concern and no hose bans are planned, but it does encourage customers, especially gardeners, to use water sensibly and avoid waste.