Research and analysis

Midlands water situation report: March 2025 summary

Updated 14 April 2025

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

1. Summary

Rainfall - March was a particularly dry month for the time of year, with it being the eighth driest March since 1871. The majority of the Midlands hydrological catchments received exceptionally low rainfall totals for the month. The remainder received notably low rainfall totals.

Soil moisture deficit – Due to lack of rainfall, soils are drier than average for the time of year. All hydrological catchments in the Midlands recorded a soil moisture deficit (SMD) of between 11mm and 40mm.

River flows – The majority of flow monitoring sites recorded below average flows for the time of year, with many recording notably low flows compared to the long term average (LTA). Only 3 sites recorded normal flows compared to the LTA for March.

Groundwater levels - As of the end of March, groundwater levels recorded at all monitoring sites were normal or above compared to the LTA.

Reservoir stocks - As of the end of March, half of raw water reservoirs reported on in the Midlands recorded average or above average storage for the time of year. The remaining 5 reservoirs recorded below average storage for the time of year.

2. Rainfall

March was a particularly dry month for the time of year, with it being the eighth driest March since 1871. The majority of the Midlands hydrological catchments received exceptionally low rainfall totals for the month, ranging from 17% to 27% of the LTA. Five catchments, predominately on the eastern side of the region, received notably low rainfall totals. These were the Avon, Soar, Lower Trent, Derwent and Shropshire Plains catchments, which received rainfall totals ranging from 27% to 34% of the LTA.

During the last 3 months, 5 Midlands hydrological catchments received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 78% to 91% of the LTA. These were the Lower Wye, Lower Severn, Avon, Soar and Lower Trent catchments. Another 5 catchments recorded below normal rainfall totals, ranging from 68% to 74% of the LTA. Only 2 hydrological catchments received notably low rainfall totals over the last 3 months. These were the Welsh Mountains catchment, which received 61% of the LTA, and the Upper Trent catchment, which received 64% of the LTA rainfall totals for January to March.

Over the past 6 months, all Midlands hydrological catchments have received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 86% to 111% of the LTA. Overall, rainfall totals have been average for this time when compared to the record, with this 6 month period being the 69th driest.

Over the last 12 months, the majority of Midlands hydrological catchments have received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 98% to 114% of the LTA. Five hydrological catchments received above normal rainfall totals, at 110% to 124% of the LTA. These were the Lower Severn, Upper Trent, Avon, Shropshire Plains and Soar hydrological catchments.

3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge

By the end of March, all hydrological catchments in the Midlands recorded a SMD of between 11mm and 40mm. This means that soils are drier than they were in the previous month of February, when SMD was at or below 10mm.

All of the Midlands hydrological catchments during March had a 6mm to 25mm difference in SMD from the LTA. This means that SMD is slightly greater than expected for the time of year, with soils being drier than the LTA.

4. River flows

In March, 7 flow monitoring sites in the Midlands recorded below normal monthly mean flows ranging from 53% to 71% of the LTA. A further 7 sites recorded notably low monthly mean flows ranging from 38% to 54% of the LTA. Two flow monitoring recorded exceptionally low flows compared to the LTA. These were Deerhurst in the south of the region, at 35% of the LTA and Marston on Dove further north, at 48% of the LTA. Only 3 flow monitoring sites recorded normal flow for the time of year. These were Walcot, Evesham, and Ebley Mill, which ranged between 65% and 106% of the LTA.

Worksop and Wedderburn Bridge gauges are currently removed from this report due to data issues.

5. Groundwater levels   

As of the end of March, groundwater levels recorded at monitoring sites were normal or higher compared to the LTA. Southard’s Lane, Rider Point and St. Mary’s Church groundwater sites recorded normal levels compared to the LTA. Another 3 sites recorded above normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA. These were Crossley Hill, Four Crosses and Ram Hall. A further 2 sites recorded notably high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. These were Coxmoor situated in the northern part of the Midlands, and Anthony’s Cross situated in the south of the Midlands. The remaining site, Weir Farm, recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels relative to the LTA.

6. Reservoir stocks

As of the end of March, half of the raw water reservoirs in the Midlands recorded average or above average storage for the time of year. The remaining 5 reservoirs recorded below average storage for the time of year, with the end of month storage percentage for these ranging from 3% to 15% below the LTA. The reservoirs recording below average storage are Vyrnwy, Derwent, Tittesworth, Blithfield and Elan.

The majority of these reservoirs have seen a decrease in storage levels over March. Blithfield saw the biggest decrease in storage, decreasing from approximately 96% to 81% storage over the month. Storage levels for 3 reservoirs saw a slight increase over March. These were the Dove, Draycote and Clywedog reservoirs. Unlike in February, no reservoirs by the end of March were at 100% storage, however the majority were still in the range of 92% to 98%.

Due to works at Blithfield reservoir, data was missing from 26 February to 3 March. Therefore, data was 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 March, the River Severn regulation was not instigated.

8. River Wye operations

In March, the River Wye regulation was not instigated even though on 17 March, storage in Elan reservoirs was below the release control line, and remained below the line until the end of the month. 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 March there were 8 water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands affecting 11 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.