Midlands water situation report: August 2024 summary
Updated 13 September 2024
Applies to England
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1. Summary
Please see Section 7.3 of the main report for a map detailing the Midlands regional coverage. of this report.
Rainfall - During August, the majority of hydrological catchments in the Midlands received notably low rainfall amounts compared to the long term average (LTA). The Soar and Avon received below normal rainfall, and the Welsh Mountains received normal rainfall compared to the LTA.
Soil moisture deficit - At the end of August, soil moisture deficit (SMD) increased across the Midlands from the previous month, meaning soils are drier than in July. SMD in the majority of the Midlands, apart from areas of the west, are more than the LTA, meaning soils are drier than usual for this time of year.
River flows - In August, the majority of monitoring sites recorded normal monthly mean flows compared to the LTA. Six sites, Auckley, Butts Bridge, Deerhurst, Kegworth, North Muskham and Yoxall recorded below normal flows compared to the LTA.
Groundwater levels - As of the end of August, Weir Farm and Coxmoor recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Three sites, Anthonys Cross, Four Crosses and Crossley Hill recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Rider Point and Southards Lane respectively recorded above normal and normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA.
Reservoir stocks - As of the end of August, 6 of the Midlands reservoirs recorded above average storage and 4 reservoirs recorded below average storage for the time of year. These are Derwent, Tittesworth, Elan and Charnwood.
2. Rainfall
August was a dry month with notably lower rainfall totals compared to July. During August, the majority of hydrological catchments in the Midlands received notably low rainfall amounts. These areas received rainfall totals ranging 37% to 52%. The Soar and Avon in the south-east of the region received below normal rainfall relative to the LTA. The Welsh Mountains recorded normal rainfall total at 80% of the LTA.
In the last 3 months, the majority of hydrological catchments in the Midlands received below normal rainfall amounts compared to the LTA. These areas received rainfall totals ranging from 68% to 92% of the LTA. Lower Wye recorded notably low rainfall totals of 69% of the LTA.
Looking at the last 6 months, all catchments in the Midlands received either normal or above normal cumulative rainfall totals compared to the 6-month LTA. Eight hydrological catchments received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 101% to 112% of the LTA. The remaining 4 hydrological catchments recorded above normal cumulative rainfall totals compared to the LTA. These were the Shropshire Plains, Upper Trent, Dove and Lower Severn.
Over the last 12 months, all hydrological catchments, apart from Lower Wye and Mid Severn/Teme, received exceptionally high rainfall totals compared to the 12-month LTA. The Lower Wye catchment received notably high rainfall total of 127% and Mid Severn/Teme received a notably high rainfall total of 130% of the LTA.
3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge
By the end of August, apart from a small area in the west, SMD increased across the whole Midlands, meaning soils are drier than they were in July. In general, by the end of the month the east of the Midlands had the highest SMD values ranging from 71mm to 130mm. This means the east comparatively had drier soils than the west of the Midlands, which had an SMD ranging from 10mm to 70mm. As a result of dry August, the east of the Midlands experienced more SMD compared to the LTA and therefore drier soils than is typical for the time of year. Comparatively the west of the Midlands experienced less SMD than it is typical for this time of year, meaning soils are wetter than the LTA in parts of that area.
4. River flows
In August, the majority of flow monitoring sites in the Midlands recorded normal monthly mean flows ranging from 51% to 97% of the LTA. These sites are spread evenly throughout the Midlands. The remaining 6 sites, Aucley, Butts Bridge, Deerhurst, Kegworth, North Muskham and Yoxall recorded below normal flows ranging from 51% to 74% of the LTA. These are located mainly in the north-east and south-west of the Midlands.
5. Groundwater levels
As of the end of August, groundwater monitoring sites are at normal or above status. Two sites recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. These sites are Weir Farm and Coxmoor. Three sites, Anthonys Cross, Four Crosses and Crossley Hill recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Rider Point recorded above normal groundwater levels and the remaining site, Southards Lane, recorded normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA.
6. Reservoir stocks
As of the end of August, 6 of the Midlands reservoirs recorded above average storage and 4 reservoirs recorded below average storage for the time of year. These are Derwent, Tittesworth, Elan and Charnwood.
7. River Severn operations
The River Severn is regulated to maintain a minimum flow at Bewdley gauging station. This ensures sufficient water flows along the river to support environmental and water supply requirements. Regulation was instigated when flows dropped below the threshold on 28 June 2024 and there have been 7 days of Regulation so far.
8. River Wye operations
As of 4 September 2024, River Wye regulation continues because flows at Redbrook remain below the regulation threshold.
9. Water abstraction restrictions
As of 3 September 2024, there are 40 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 90 licences in total.
Author: Midlands Hydrology, midlandshydrology@environment-agency.gov.uk
Contact Details: 03708 506 506
Disclaimer: All data are provisional and may be subject to revision. The views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Environment Agency. Its officers, servants or agents accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from the interpretation or use of the information, or reliance upon views contained in this report.