Midlands water situation report: February 2025 summary
Updated 12 March 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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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 February, the majority of the hydrological catchments in the Midlands received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 66% to 98% of the long term average (LTA).
Soil moisture deficit - By the end of February, all hydrological catchments in the Midlands recorded a soil moisture deficit (SMD) of less than or equal to 10mm. This means that soils are at field capacity.
River flows - In February, the majority of flow monitoring sites in the Midlands recorded normal monthly mean flows compared to the LTA. Wedderburn Bridge is still showing unreliable data from September 2024 onwards.
Groundwater levels - As of the end of February, groundwater levels recorded at monitoring sites were normal or above compared to the LTA. There was no data recorded at Southards Lane for the majority of February.
Reservoir stocks - As of the end of February, the majority of the Midlands reservoirs, with the exception of Derwent reservoir, recorded above average storage for the time of year. Data has been interpolated for Blithfield reservoir due to data being missing from 26 February onwards.
2. Rainfall
During February, the majority of the Midlands hydrological catchments received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 66% to 98% of the LTA. Four catchments in the northern parts of the Midlands received below normal rainfall totals. These were the Shropshire Plains, Upper Trent, Dove and Derwent catchments which received rainfall totals ranging from 48% to 64% of the LTA.
During the last 3 months, the majority of the Midlands hydrological catchments received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 97% to 110% of the LTA. Only 2 hydrological catchments, situated in the north-eastern parts of the Midlands, received above normal rainfall totals. These were the Lower Trent and Soar hydrological catchments which received 121% and 117% of the 3-month LTA rainfall totals, respectively.
Over the past 6 months, the majority of the Midlands hydrological catchments received notably high rainfall totals, ranging from 128% to 156% of the LTA. The Derwent and Dove hydrological catchments both received above normal rainfall totals of 114% and 117% of the LTA, respectively. Only one hydrological catchment, the Welsh Mountains in the west of the Midlands area, received normal rainfall totals of 104% of the LTA.
Over the last 12 months, all of the Midlands hydrological catchments received higher than normal rainfall totals. Two hydrological catchments, the Shropshire Plains and the Lower Severn, received exceptionally high rainfall totals. A further 6 hydrological catchments received notably high rainfall totals ranging from 117% to 129% of the LTA. These were the Lower Wye, Upper Trent, Dove, Tame, Avon and Soar hydrological catchments. Four hydrological catchments received above normal rainfall totals, ranging from 108% to 120% of the LTA. These were the Derwent, Lower Trent, Welsh Mountains and Mid Severn hydrological catchments.
3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge
By the end of February, all hydrological catchments in the Midlands recorded SMD of less than or equal to 10mm. This means that soils are at field capacity. This was the same as January, therefore, there has been no major changes in SMD.
The majority of hydrological catchments in February had a -5mm to 5mm difference from the LTA, meaning that SMD was as expected for the time of year. The only hydrological catchment with wetter than expected soils for the time of year was the Soar situated in the north-east of the Midlands. This catchment had a -25mm to -6mm difference in SMD from the LTA.
4. River flows
In February, the majority of flow monitoring sites in the Midlands recorded normal monthly mean flows ranging from 70% to 109% of the LTA. One flow monitoring site in the south of the Midlands, Ebley Mill, recorded above normal monthly mean flows at 117% of the LTA. A further 2 flow monitoring sites recorded below normal monthly mean flows relative to the LTA. These were Whatstandwell and Marston on Dove which recorded 67% and 66% of the LTA monthly mean flows, respectively. Wedderburn Bridge has been showing unreliable data from September 2024 onwards, therefore, data has been removed from this report.
5. Groundwater levels
As of the end of February, groundwater levels recorded at monitoring sites were normal or above compared to the LTA. Two groundwater monitoring sites, Coxmoor and Weir Farm, recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Three sites recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA, these were:
- Four Crosses
- Ram Hall
- Anthony’s Cross
A further 2 sites recorded above normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA. These were Crossley Hill situated in the northern part of the Midlands, and St Mary’s Church situated in the central part of the Midlands. The remaining site, Rider Point, recorded normal groundwater levels relative to the LTA. There was no data recorded at Southards Lane for the majority of February, therefore, data has been removed from this report.
6. Reservoir stocks
As of the end of February, the majority of the Midlands reservoirs recorded above average storage for the time of year. The only exception is the Derwent reservoir which recorded slightly below average storage for the time of year.
All of the Midlands reservoirs storage levels were similar at the end of the month to the start. Storage levels for 2 reservoirs in Wales, Elan and Vyrnwy, have remained at 100% since January. This means that both reservoirs have remained full and spilling.
Due to ongoing works at Blithfield reservoir, data was missing from 26 February to the end of the month. Therefore, data has been interpolated for Blithfield for this period.
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 is instigated when flows drop below a threshold.
In February, the River Severn regulation was not instigated.
8. River Wye operations
In February, the River Wye regulation was not instigated even though from 12 February to 24 February, storage in Elan reservoirs was below the release control line. This was because flows at Redbrook gauging station remained above the regulation threshold throughout this period.
9. Water abstraction restrictions
As of the end of February, there were 6 restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 7 licences.
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.