Midlands water situation report: October 2024 summary
Updated 13 November 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-situation-local-area-reports/midlands-water-situation-report-october-2024-summary
1. Summary
Please see Section 7.3 for a map detailing the Midlands regional coverage of this report.
Rainfall - During October, the majority of hydrological catchments in the Midlands received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 96% to 173% of the long term average (LTA).
Soil moisture deficit - By the end of October, soil moisture deficit (SMD) has stayed the same as of September across the majority of the Midlands area. Compared to the LTA, the majority of soils in October are wetter than expected for the time of year.
River flows - In October, 9 flow monitoring sites recorded exceptionally high monthly mean flows compared to the LTA. A further 6 recorded notably high and 5 recorded above normal monthly mean flows relative to the LTA. One site, Wedderburn Bridge, had no suitable data for October as well.
Groundwater levels - As of the end of October, 5 groundwater monitoring sites recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. One site each recorded notably high, above normal and normal groundwater levels compared to the LTA.
Reservoir stocks - As of the end of October, all of the Midlands reservoirs recorded above average storage for the time of year. Since September, storage levels for the majority of reservoirs have increased.
2. Rainfall
During October, the majority of Midlands’ hydrological catchments received normal rainfall totals, ranging from 96% to 145% of the LTA. The Mid and Lower Severn and Lower Wye situated in the south-west of the Midlands were the only catchments receiving above normal rainfall totals of 153%, 165% and 173% respectively of the LTA.
During the last 3 months, hydrological catchments in the Midlands received a variable amount of rainfall relative to the LTA. Three hydrological catchments, the Lower Severn Estuary, the Lower Wye, and the Soar received exceptionally high rainfall totals of 170%, 163%, and 161% respectively of the LTA. Two hydrological catchments received notably high rainfall totals compared to the LTA. These were the Shropshire Plains in the north-west of the Midlands and the Avon in the east of the Midlands. A further 3 hydrological catchments received above normal rainfall totals ranging from 130% to 143% of the LTA. These were the Mid Severn, Upper Trent, and Tame. The rest of the Midlands received normal rainfall totals relative to the LTA. These were the Welsh Mountains in the west and the Lower Trent, Derwent and Dove in the east of the Midlands.
Over the past 6 months, 2 hydrological catchments received notably high rainfall totals relative to the LTA. These were the Lower Severn in the south and Shropshire Plains in the north-west of the Midlands. A further 4 catchments received normal rainfall totals relative to the LTA. These were the Welsh Mountains in the west and the Lower Trent, Derwent and Dove in the east of the Midlands. The remaining hydrological catchments in the Midlands received above normal rainfall totals, ranging from 124% to 133% of the LTA.
Over the last 12 months, all of the Midlands hydrological catchments received exceptionally high rainfall totals relative to the LTA. These rainfall totals ranged from 127% to 152% of the LTA.
3. Soil moisture deficit and recharge
By the end of October, SMD has stayed the same as that of September for almost all of the Midlands with only a small part of Lower Trent catchment getting wetter meaning SMD has decreased. By the end of the month, the majority of the Midlands had a SMD of less than or equal to 10mm, meaning soils are saturated.
Compared to the LTA, the majority of soils in October are wetter than expected for the time of year. Only a small area in the north-west of the Midlands had a -5mm to 5mm difference from the LTA. This means that SMD was as expected in this area for the time of year.
4. River flows
In October, 9 flow monitoring sites in the Midlands recorded exceptionally high monthly mean flows ranging from 219% to 393% of the LTA. These were:
- Redbrook
- Ebley
- Evesham
- Stareton
- Bewdley
- Tenbury
- Walcot
- Deerhurst
- Kegworth
Six monitoring sites recorded notably high monthly mean flows ranging from 159% to 320% of the LTA. These were:
- Butts Bridge
- Yoxall
- Great Bridgeford
- North Muskham
- Worksop *Auckley
Five out of the 6 remaining sites recorded above normal monthly mean flows ranging from 124% to 206% of the LTA.
After the intense rainfall in September, the investigation into the data from Wedderburn Bridge is continued. As a result, we have no suitable data available from this site for October as well. Also, Haw Bridge data is used as a substitute for the Deerhurst site as the data from Deerhurst was not suitable.
5. Groundwater levels
As of the end of October, groundwater levels recorded at monitoring sites were normal or above compared to the LTA. Coxmoor, Rider Point, Weir Farm, Four Crosses, and Anthony’s Cross recorded exceptionally high groundwater levels compared to the LTA. Southard Lane and Crossley Hill in the north and Ram Hall in central Midlands recorded normal, notably high, and above normal groundwater levels respectively relative to the LTA.
6. Reservoir stocks
As of the end of October, all of the Midlands reservoirs recorded above average storage for the time of year.
Since September, storage levels for the majority of reservoirs have increased. Storage levels for Clywedog, Vyrnwy, and Dove have decreased.
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. The 2024 regulation season has seen only 7 days of river regulation, which commenced on 28 June 2024. The last day of regulation was 9 September 2024.
8. River Wye operations
For all of October, storage in the Elan Valley reservoirs were above the release control line and the flows at Redbrook gauging station were above the regulation threshold.
As of 1 November 2024, storage in the Elan Valley reservoir is above the release control line and the flows at Redbrook gauging station are above the regulation threshold. Therefore, regulation releases are not in operation.
9. Water abstraction restrictions
As of 1 November 2024, there are no water abstraction licence restrictions in place across the Midlands.
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.