WATER restrictions were still not needed in the Wessex Water region this week despite the Environment Agency officially declaring the whole of the West Country to be suffering drought conditions.

The Environment Agency (EA) said Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and parts of Wiltshire had all moved to drought status because of the impact on the environment of the prolonged dry weather.

Previously, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly had also been declared to be in a drought as the West Country experienced some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years.

The EA said triggers used to confirm the move to drought status included rainfall, river flows, groundwater levels, reservoir levels, and the dryness of soils. By waiting until this week it had given the agency’s response team time to consider the effects of recent rainfall.

EA area drought lead Chris Paul said: “Despite some heavy rain over the past two weeks it has not been enough to refill our rivers and aquifers.

“River levels across our Wessex area are exceptionally low, many showing the lowest flows on record. This places incredible strain on local wildlife and this is why we are moving to drought status.

“We are prioritising our local operations to minimise impacts on the environment.”

But Wessex Water spokesman George Keast told the Wellington Weekly: “Our drinking water levels remain stable and we have seen a significant drop in demand for water compared to previous dry weather periods, so we have no plans to introduce a hosepipe ban.

“We urge everyone to continue using water responsibly, even now that temperatures are cooling, because our rivers and wildlife need protection.

“By taking shorter showers, fixing any leaking toilets or taps, and reusing water where possible on plants, we can all do our bit to help the environment.

“Throughout the summer we have been keeping rivers and streams ‘topped up’ with 90 million litres of water per day that we are able to pump up from groundwater sources.”

Mr Keast said the water company was also fixing 1,200 leaks every month and had reduced leakage by 30 per cent in the past 20 years, which had helped to ease demand despite a 12 per cent increase in population.

Responding to the Environmental Agency declaring a drought across the South West, Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton Richard Foord said: “Water companies have been letting millions of litres of water gush away through leaky pipes, and now people across the South West are facing a drought.

“Rather than investing properly in vital infrastructure, bosses and executives have cashed in eye-watering bonuses. This is utterly galling given the situation now facing our communities.

“The Government has neglected their duty to act for too long. We need urgent action to support the West Country, hold water companies to account, and get them to clean up their mess.”

And volunteers who help to look after The Basins, in Wellington, have been battling issues connected to lower water levels.

One volunteer said: “Depletion of water levels cause a lack of oxygen, potentially leaving a detrimental effect on the wildlife. It can also lead to a build-up of algae, although that has not been too bad. The main issue is unblocking the water flow, which is full of leaves. We rely on an old pipe from Rockwell Green so if it’s not clean then we get no water.”

John Andrews, an experienced member of the volunteer team, said: “The water levels luckily have not deteriorated during the heat and oxygen levels have not dropped drastically. However, we have lost a lot of trees which have died off due to tree rot, such as our horse chestnut trees.”