Although snow fell on much of the UK last weekend, the tendency towards dry weather has continued and in some regions this means the outlook for water availability later in the year is not good. Yesterday, the Environment Agency announced that prospects for spray irrigation in the Anglian region were “poor” due to lack of available water resources.

In many rivers and aquifers in the region water levels remain well below average. Following 2011, which broke records for heat and drought in the UK, the winter so far has been the driest on record in the Anglian region as a whole. There remains an “exceptionally high” soil moisture deficit across Anglia; unless the region receives above average rainfall for the remaining winter and early spring, “significant restrictions on abstraction for spray irrigation from surface water are probable and we may have to restrict abstraction from groundwater,” the EA said. However, even in the Anglian region, abstraction from reservoirs will not be affected.

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A dry spring and autumn in 2011 undid the effects of the slightly wetter summer, and for many parts of the UK, rainfall has remained below the long term average. Furthermore, the forecast for the next three months shows a high probability of below average rainfall.

An EA spokesperson said, “Groundwater levels give a clearer indication of the overall state of water resources and these are currently below the normal range for the time of year with many sites classified as “notably low”. Some are classified as exceptionally low which is the indicator for severe groundwater drought.

“If the dry weather conditions continue then groundwater is likely to show little or no recovery and levels will be either notably low or exceptionally low during the irrigation period. If we have average rainfall groundwater is still likely to be below the normal range with significantly higher than average rainfall required to get levels back to normal before summer. This means that flows in groundwater fed rivers are likely to be low or very low during 2012.”

According to the Agency’s latest update, released today, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, and west Norfolk remain in drought. Other areas including Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, East Sussex and Kent are also still feeling the effects of dry weather.

The EA said it was working with a range of government and industry groups, including the NFU and the Met Office to create a drought prospects report, which will help with preparedness for a potential drought this year. The agency said it is examining its regulatory approach to help farmers affected by drought without impacting on the environment.

Helen Vale, National Drought Co-ordinator, said, “Water levels in rivers, lakes and underground water sources are dependent on the amount of rainfall received. Northamptonshire has seen the driest 16 months since records began. Pressure on water resources looks set to increase over the next few months, so it is more important than ever that consumers, businesses and water abstractors use water wisely.”

Winter abstraction licence restrictions remain in place in part of England, with 41 in the Midlands region, 104 in the Anglian region (104) and 200 in the South East region. The numbers of licences under restriction changes on a weekly basis with the change in rainfall, the EA said it is keeping farmers up to speed with the latest developments.

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