England drought bulletin reports reservoirs at 54% of capacity
The Environment Agency’s bulletin for 2–8 October said reservoir storage in England remained below its seasonal average and that agricultural concerns about winter water storage persisted.
Event / data period: 2026-10-08
Published: · Updated:
In the report updated on 9 October, England’s reservoir storage stood at 54%, 21% below the average for this point in the year. Nineteen reservoirs or reservoir groups were below 50% full, and eight were classified as exceptionally low. England had received 10% of its long-term average October rainfall by the reporting date.
The agriculture section said some reservoirs were reported at 0% to 20% capacity, 536 abstraction-licence restrictions were active, and 1,383 voluntary restrictions were reducing abstraction by 50%. This is a weekly status report; local conditions can differ.
Data
England reservoir storage
Storage level and comparison with the seasonal average stated in the Environment Agency bulletin for 2–8 October 2026.
| Reservoir storage as share of capacity | 54 |
| Source-reported gap below seasonal average | 21 |
Methodology
The bulletin reports England storage at 54% and 21% below the seasonal average. The second value is retained as stated by the source; no percentage-point conversion or seasonal-average calculation is made. Reservoir figures refer to the week ending 6 October 2026.
Updated:
Water restrictions reported in the agriculture section
Counts from the agriculture section of the Environment Agency bulletin for 2–8 October 2026.
| Active abstraction licence restrictions | 536 |
| Voluntary abstraction restrictions | 1383 |
| Flexible abstraction requests received from agriculture | 42 |
Methodology
Counts are transcribed from the source. The 50% reduction applies to voluntary restrictions and is not the share of restrictions that are voluntary.
Updated:
Subjects and places
Subject proposals
- AgricultureSuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: agriculturalwww.gov.uk ↗
- Water supplySuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: reservoirs, water storagewww.gov.uk ↗
- DroughtSuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: droughtwww.gov.uk ↗
- EnvironmentSuggested
- Preserved editorial category/topic; broad candidate onlywww.gov.uk ↗
Geographic references
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- United Kingdom · Place role: Coverage · Place type: Country or area · Location precision: RegionalEvidence
- Explicit preserved editorial country/region; no city or national centroid inferredwww.gov.uk ↗