Thursday 16th July, 2026
With no meaningful rain for weeks, rivers across Wales are once again “on their bones.” Some are already below recent lowest or approaching all-time low levels.
Shrunken rivers cause significant problems for ecology, including loss of habitat, lower oxygen levels, higher water temperatures (particularly dangerous for already under-threat salmonids), diminished water quality, restricted migration, higher predation and, overall, a loss of biodiversity. Sadly, fish deaths have been reported in Welsh rivers in this latest heat wave.
Despite the levels, no areas of the UK are currently in official drought status, although some in England are on a watchlist following this summer’s elevated temperatures.
In Wales, our drought group met today to assess the situation. This can be the trigger for a deluge but, unfortunately, the forecast is for more dry weather for the rest of July.
A water resources drought is different to an environmental one. Photo: WhitcombeRD/iStock
Correct as it is, the message that people in Wales need to reduce their personal consumption would carry a lot more weight if the largest water company had its own house in order when it came to leakage. Photo: sponner/iStock
Different kinds of drought
It is important to distinguish between an environmental and water resources drought.
The former means insufficient water for ecosystems (including rivers) while a water resources drought entails not enough water for society’s needs.
Currently, societal water supplies are relatively healthy. At the start of July, the reservoirs for the four Welsh Water regions average ranged from 82-91% full.
Meanwhile, Hafren Dyfrdwy’s storage levels were at around 69%.
So there is no shortage of water in reservoirs. What Wales is facing is an environmental drought.
What can be done?
As always, much of the focus is on water companies, even in environmental droughts.
Ofwat has urged us all to lower our water consumption, thereby reducing the amount that needs to be abstracted from rivers. In Wales, per capita consumption of water is relatively high, averaging at around 150 litres per day (compared to 136 litres in England).
However, it is worth noting that demand peaks during hot weather and companies can struggle to get enough water through the network at such times.
Certainly, we all have to do our bit. But there has been some perhaps understandable criticism of the onus being put on consumers when water companies are failing to achieve targets for reducing leakage from their networks.
In times of drought we all need to make an effort to reduce our water consumption
While Hafren Dyfrdwy has generally performed well against its leakage targets, the company still loses tens of millions of litres of water every day. Welsh Water, on the other hand, has missed leakage targets for the past three years and were found to have misreported rates before that.
So however correct it may be, the message that people in Wales need to reduce their personal consumption would carry a lot more weight if the largest water company had its own house in order.
Drought/flood – two sides of the same coin
The situation, of course, is much more complex than this. There is much more that could be done by multiple sectors to alleviate the stress Wales’s rivers suffer in our now all-to-regular drought periods.
Low and high rivers flows are, of course, different sides to the same coin. Retaining more water in the Welsh landscape in wet periods not only reduces flood risk but also stores more to be released in droughts.
Work to increase the water storage capacity of Welsh river catchments is crucial to increase resilience to both flood and drought. Restoring peat bogs, improving soil health and tree planting will all help.
Natural Resources Wales have been carrying out some important work with peat bog restoration and the six regional Welsh rivers trusts planted over 31,000 trees last year but much more could be done to improve soil health, which is a crucial element to both flood and drought resilience.
All abstractors
Water is abstracted from rivers for purposes other than domestic water supply, of course.
In Wales, abstraction is regulated by Natural Resources Wales through a licensing system under the Water Resources Act 1991. Abstractions exceeding 20 cubic metres per day require a licence with conditions controlling the volume, timing and environmental impacts of water use. During low-flow or drought conditions, abstraction may be restricted to protect river ecosystems and maintain environmental flows.
A concern is the number of abstractions that are supposedly below the licence threshold. Multiple pumps taking twenty tonnes of water per day is a lot from a river already struggling to maintain healthy flows. And who knows how many of these abstractions there are?
Natural Resources Wales’s checks on water resource licences in 2024 found that there was a 37% non-compliance rate.
According to its last Regulatory Report, Natural Resources Wales issued 2,008 water resources licences in 2024 (although it does not differentiate between sectors). 190 licence compliance assessments were made (less than 10% but almost double to the previous year), of which only 63% (120) were found to be compliant.
While the regulator should be praised for increasing its licence checks, a 37% non-compliance rate is concerning, especially if breaches occur during sensitive periods.
It is also unclear whether any enforcement actions took place as a result of non-compliance. If unlawful abstraction during low flow periods is to be prevented, would-be perpetrators need to know there is a chance of being caught and that action will be taken.
Using reservoirs more to help rivers
There are also opportunities to use Wales’s network of reservoirs more proactively to protect rivers.
Some are already releasing additional water to support ecology during low flows, but there is potential to do this more widely. The Dee and Wye, for example, currently receive extra releases to help ecology.
Using reservoirs in this way is Natural Resources Wales’s responsibility yet our regulator has so far failed to implement schemes that would better protect many rivers across Wales, despite its statutory obligations towards protecting designated species and habitats.
If Wales is to reverse the decline in its biodiversity and stick to nature commitments, the new Welsh Government must find and implement solutions that protect rivers from the ravages of hot, dry weather.
Climate change is here. The UK has experienced four of the five warmest years on record since 2022 with rainfall becoming more extreme and variable. Climate extremes once considered exceptional are becoming increasingly normal.
So this is a problem that is only likely to worsen.
While water companies have an obligation to deliver long-term water resource planning, no other sectors do. There is no joined-up national plan to support water resources, long-term infrastructure, growth or food security.
If implemented, Plaid’s manifesto pledge to promote nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk will help drought resilience too, but so much more could be done and in an integrated way.
The future of Wales’s water supplies, agriculture and local communities depend on this. So too do rivers and iconic yet imperilled fish species such as our Atlantic salmon and sewin.