Dry Weather
The recent dry spell means that we are asking our customers to think about the way they use water. Use the water you need but avoid wasting it.
Weather
In Wales and parts of Herefordshire, rainfall directly affects our water resources. Prolonged periods of dry weather can cause reservoir storage to decline.
This year, the record has been broken for the hottest start to May in Wales.
March 2025 was the 4th driest March in history in Wales.
Rainfall was 30% lower than levels in 2022, when Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire last faced restrictions on water usage to protect water supplies due to drought conditions.
Each reservoir and area we serve has different trigger points for restrictions. We would like to avoid this, so are asking customers to work with us to help conserve water resources.
Reservoirs
Around 95% of our water resources originate as surface water either from reservoir storage or river abstractions.
We have very little dependence on groundwater supplies.
This reliance on surface waters can increase vulnerability to short periods of low rainfall as river levels change more quickly than groundwaters.
Regions across the UK have different water resource origins, with some relying on groundwater supplies. Comparing our reservoir levels directly with reservoirs elsewhere in the UK doesn’t provide the full picture.
Our reservoir water levels are currently just below what is expected for this time of year.
The table below shows reservoir levels across our operating area:
Stages of drought
We follow five stages of action in our drought action plan, which we managed through demand management measures. We work closely with Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and other agencies at each stage.
Stage 1 - Normal Operation
Stage 2 - Developing drought: We are experiencing dry conditions and the forecast is for warm, dry weather to continue. Water resources are starting to show signs of developing drought but only in some very localised areas.
Stage 3 - Drought
Stage 4 - Severe Drought
Stage 5 - Emergency Measures
You can view our full corporate drought plan here.
What are we doing to help the situation?
Our teams are working hard to ensure we’re taking every stop possible to maximise water efficiency across our operating areas including:
- Increased water storage
- Rezoning and tankering water to areas in high demand
- Ongoing network upgrades
- Increased water production at our treatment works to move water around the system to keep the levels topped up where demand is highest.
- Leakage detection and fixes to cut the amount of water that is lost from the network. Teams are working across the country fixing leaks as quickly as they can. Our teams are currently fixing around 700 leaks every week and customers can help by reporting any leaks to us. Over the next five years, we will reduce leakage by a quarter and we’re spending around £400m on pipe replacement and leakage repairs to support this ambition.
We’re doing all we can to save water by fixing leaks quickly and moving water around where we can and are asking for your help to reduce the amount of water that you use.
It’s important that we all play our part by continuing to reduce consumption so that together we can help minimise the risk of restrictions to supplies.
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