According to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, which carries out hydrological surveys each month to monitor the country's water resources, although July saw hot weather break through at last in the UK, the heat and dryness which onset early in the month were followed by unsettled weather, which reduced the possibility of water stress.

CEH said July was a month of contrasts, with hot, arid conditions giving way to intense downpours and even some flooding, which affected mostly urban areas. CEH said that, following the long, cold spring and lateness of summer weather this year, July eventually heralded the most notable heatwave since June / July 2006. As a result, evaporation demands and soil moisture deficits increased during the first three weeks of the month.

The arid conditions even gave rise to woodland and heathland fires in some parts of the country. These conditions also led to "substantial increases" in spray irrigation. Overall water demand rose significantly (by up to 30 percent in some regions) until the fourth week of the month, when heavy rainfalls replenished reservoirs; by the end of the month, reservoir stocks were within ten percent of the long-term average in most areas, in spite of the month-long heatwave.

Replenishment was slower in western and northern catchments, CEH said, though groundwater levels in most major aquifers fared better, remaining within the normal late-summer range for the most part.

Terry Marsh of the National River Flow Archive said, "Although rainfall deficiencies for 2013 thus far are notable in some, mostly western, areas, the legacy of the exceptional 2012 rainfall has ensured the general water resources outlook remains healthy."