A drought summit called by Defra secretary Caroline Spelman will meet today to discuss strategies for coping with drought in parts of the UK this summer, which according to meteorologists is now almost inevitable. Water companies posited prior to today’s meeting that there is a high likelihood water restrictions will be announced.

Representatives from wildlife and farming groups will meet with ministers, met office personnel and water company delegates to discuss methods to tackle the prospect of the driest summer in parts of Britain in thirty years. It is thought water companies operating in the South will attempt to bring in restrictions, and enact them in as little as four weeks’ time. Water companies are also expected to file for drought permits, which will allow them to draw water from previously restricted sources.

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Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and West Norfolk are officially ‘in drought’, though there are water-stressed areas in many other counties including Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Caroline Spelman said of the summit, "We're bringing everybody together today - the water industry, all the water users, the agriculture industry, the horticulturists, and also the green groups who are obviously concerned that we protect nature - because it's important actually we think about what preventative measures we can take now."

Speaking in advance of the summit to outline his union’s stance, NFU vice president Gwyn Jones said, “The Environment Agency is already forecasting drought and severe restrictions on irrigation in several Eastern counties,

“This is making farmers and growers extremely anxious. The fact another summit has been called is an indication that Government takes this issue as seriously as farmers. And while there’s nothing that Government can do about the weather, there are some steps it can take that would go some way to alleviating the problems growers will face.”

There have been calls for the government to encourage a more joined up approach, including greater sharing of resources between regions. Although it may not be feasible to transport water from the North, which has been consistently wetter than the South and Midlands, there may be a drive t encourage water companies to take a “more joined-up approach,” according to the NFU.

The union has made a number of recommendations which would benefit farmers, including extending the period in which farmers can abstract water from rivers to fill storage reservoirs for summer. Mr Jones suggested the period’s extension beyond the end of March, “providing there was sufficient rainfall.” The NFU has also suggested restoring the qualifying capacity of a large raised reservoir to 25,000 cubic metres, which it suggests would ease additional costs that put many farmers off building larger reservoirs.

Lastly, the union suggested, encouraging water companies to produce emergency plans for supplying drinking water for livestock, particularly housed pigs and poultry.

However, with the increased likelihood of an increasing lack of water in the future, and many competing needs, there appears to be greater onus on the water companies to reduce loss from burst pipes and leakage, which it is estimated could meet the water needs of 20 per cent of the British population each year.

Wildlife charities are also requesting more needs to be done. They have stressed the need to keep waterways flowing, after the Environment Agency had to stage an intervention to rescue fish which were stranded when a stretch of the river Dore dried up in Herefordshire.

Enviornmentalist organisation Friends of the Earth's Senior Nature Campaigner Paul de Zylva, said the government must act fast, rather than holding repeated, ineffectual talks. He commented, "It's little surprise we're in drought - successive Governments have ignored expert advice on saving water, burdening farmers and households with the consequences. Ministers keep holding water summits but if they are serious about safeguarding water supplies and protecting crops and wildlife, they must urgently stop water companies drying out our rivers and place water saving at the heart of our planning system."

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