The Environment Agency has continued to review Drought triggers using information provided by others, as a result the Environment Agency's Hertfordshire and North London area is in an Environmental Drought.

There are a number of complex factors which help indicate what Drought status we are in (Normal, Prolonged Dry Weather, Drought, Severe Drought or Recovering Drought). With so many terms and phrases used, the Environment Agency has sought not to subcategorise each Drought status.

The experience over this summer has shown that with improved resilience in the water supply network there is a greater likelihood of environmental impact before drought measures are enacted. The Environment Agency is now working on a series of triggers that can be robustly used to highlight the challenges to the environment. This has not prevented Environment Agency staff from undertaking actions to manage the current situation and responding to particular drought incidents.

The Environment Agency is taking action to encourage water companies to promote the importance of saving water to their customers.

Local Members of Parliament and Councils have been informed of the situation, asking them to support messages on reducing water consumption in the long and short term.

So the Luton Lea Catchment Partnerships is asking everyone to reduce their day to day usage and to make extra effort to conserve water over the coming months to protect rivers and water supplies. Every litre of water we save is a litre supporting our rivers and wildlife.

The Environment Agency has published a blog explaining the current situation and what we're doing in response. Read it.