Environment Agency - Home

What we're doing

The Environment Agency is responsible for monitoring, reporting and acting to reduce the impact of drought on the environment

We work with water abstractors (such as water companies, farmers and industry) to manage the demand and availability of water and decide whether water company applications for drought permits are reasonable. 

We have drought plans for all of England and Wales.  These set out how we will manage water resources during a drought.  These plans aim to balance the competing interests of the environment and the need for public water supply.  They contain a range of environmental indicators that determine the action we will take to achieve this aim. 

What we do during a drought

During a drought, we step up our monitoring actions to make sure that we continue to protect the environment from harm.

Our ongoing work with water companies, and other water users such as farmers, means they have their own plans in place to cope with hot dry spells. We make sure that they do not take too much water from rivers and that they are following their drought plans.

We deal with drought permit applications from water companies to allow them to continue abstracting water during drought.  The environmental impact and public water supplies are important considerations when deciding whether to grant these applications.

Our other key responsibility is to report on the state of water resources during a drought to the public, government and our partners.