Parts of Wiltshire are put into drought status

The move means that all of south-west England is in drought after some of the driest conditions in nearly 90 years, the Environment Agency said.

Up to 11 of the 14 Environment Agency areas in England are in drought status, with the rest of the south-west – Devon, Cornwall and Isle of Scilly – already designated as being in drought earlier this month.

While the Wessex area has had some rainfall over the past two weeks, it has not been sufficient to compensate for the long dry period in recent months, the agency said.

In the Wessex area, the effects of drought are resulting in low river flows impacting the environment in and around rivers, such as the Avon and Frome.

The agency added it would work with companies and individuals with licences to abstract water and with the public, to lower demand and reduce the impact on nature.

Chris Paul, the Environment Agency’s area drought lead, said: “While there is an important role for people to sustainably manage their usage, Government expects water companies to act to reduce leakage and fix leaking pipes as quickly as possible and take wider action alongside government policy.

Chris Paul, the Environment Agency’s area drought lead, 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.

“Action being taken across the area includes additional monitoring of the effects of the dry weather on rivers and responding to environmental emergencies, such as rescuing stranded fish, wherever possible.

“We will also be ensuring people and companies who have water abstraction licences only operate within the terms of their licence and taking legal action against those who fail to comply or against anyone who abstracts water without a licence.”

The agency said July was the driest month on record since 1935 across England, with monthly rainfall totals for the majority of river catchments classed as exceptionally low for the time of year.

There had been five consecutive months of below-average rainfall across all geographic regions in England and above-average temperatures. River flows, groundwater and reservoir levels also all decreased during July.

The extremely hot dry conditions in recent weeks have hit farming crops, fuelled wildfires and led to a large increase in demand for water, with impacts on the environment including rivers and ponds drying out, and fish and other wildlife dying or suffering.

The Environment Agency uses four stages to describe and manage drought conditions: prolonged dry weather, drought, severe drought, and recovering drought.

Six water companies – Southern Water, South East Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, South West Water and Welsh Water – have implemented or announced hosepipe bans as part of efforts to tackle the drought. Wessex Water has said it hopes to avoid a hosepipe ban.