(MENAFN) England may confront its most intense drought in decades in the coming year, prompting both the government and water providers to prepare emergency strategies that extend beyond simple hosepipe bans, a report by a media outlet on Saturday revealed.

Executives from a leading water company expressed to the media outlet that they were “extremely concerned” about the possibility of another dry winter, as the country’s national meteorological service predicts rainfall levels below the usual average.
Should this pattern persist, they cautioned, stringent restrictions on water consumption could become necessary.

Although large parts of England experienced drought conditions this summer, rainfall from the previous year had mitigated some of the effects by keeping reservoirs and groundwater supplies relatively full.

However, several months of unusually dry weather have significantly drained these reserves, and recent rainfall averages have not sufficed to restore them.

National reservoir levels have declined to roughly 63%, considerably lower than the seasonal norm of 76%, with certain reservoirs in southern England falling below 30%, according to the report.

Groundwater recovery, which occurs more slowly than the replenishment of reservoirs, remains alarmingly low.

In southern regions of England, some local water authorities have sought new limitations on commercial water use, including prohibitions on washing buildings or filling swimming pools.

Alastair Chisholm, policy director at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, told the media outlet that a second consecutive dry winter “is when things start to get serious” in the United Kingdom.

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