A transfer between three rivers and an emergency reservoir has been made available to support growers in Lincolnshire as more UK regions enter prolonged dry weather or drought
The Environment Agency (EA) has activated a back-up water transfer scheme in Lincolnshire to help growers and farmers struggling with low rainfall after an extended period of dry weather.
The Trent Witham Ancholme River Transfer Scheme can pump 60 Olympic-sized pools of water daily if required, through a 17.5km pipeline between the rivers Witham, Trent and Ancholme.
The scheme supports more than 100 abstraction licences held by water companies, farmers, industrial users and other abstractors who rely on water from both rivers.
It includes the 16.5-hectare Toft Newton Reservoir, as an emergency reserve that can be released into the River Ancholme if pollution incidents or equipment failures disrupt normal river transfers.
“We are working hard to maintain river levels for people, wildlife, navigation and agriculture,” said environment manager for Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Thomas Enright.
“We will continue to monitor the conditions closely and will not hesitate to use our regulatory powers to mitigate the impacts of dry weather on the environment, water supplies and other sectors.”
The news comes as the UK recorded less than 1mm of rainfall in the week ending 21 July, while North Wales and the Upper Severn regions became the first regions to declare drought status last week (23 July).
More than half of England, from Cornwall up to Lincolnshire, is now classified as experiencing ‘prolonged dry weather’, as the level before drought.
Low river flows have led to 1,353 abstraction licence restrictions, while irrigation demand remains high, the EA has confirmed.
There are also concerns are growing over water resilience later this year, with further voluntary or formal water restrictions likely if dry conditions continue.
Crops including brassicas, salad and onions are already affected as plants have seen stagnated growth, with the upcoming potato season likely to see an impact on crop sizing and yields.
Find a special report on water resilience in fresh produce in the upcoming sustainability issue of Fresh Produce Journal, out in August. Email subscriptions@fruitnet.com to order your copy or download the FPJ app.
