What happened

The direction was made on Thursday 15 October 2026 under section 40 of the Environment Act 1995, which lets a minister give the Environment Agency directions about how it carries out its work. Defra published it on 19 October. It applies to England.

It says that severe drought has been declared in the water resource zones around four reservoirs: Wimbleball, Ardingly, Roadford and Colliford. In those areas the Environment Agency must:

  • give priority to protecting public water supply when it uses its powers;
  • use Local Enforcement Positions where necessary for temporary reductions in environmental releases and changes to abstraction limits, to keep more water in the reservoirs and reduce the likelihood of rota cuts or supply interruption;
  • keep each decision proportionate, backed by evidence and monitoring, with mitigation and restoration for the environment;
  • work with Defra, the affected water companies and Local Resilience Forums.

The direction doesn't change the Agency's legal duties to protect the environment. It is reviewed monthly and expires when severe drought status is lifted from all four areas.

The Environment Agency's weekly drought report for 9 to 15 October fills in the picture. Severe drought was declared on 15 October in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. It lists Wimbleball and Colliford as South West Water reservoirs and Ardingly as South East Water's, all classed as exceptionally low, and says public water supply concerns are focused on Wimbleball and Ardingly. Both companies already have temporary use bans (often called hosepipe bans) in place, South West Water across its whole area except Bournemouth. Check your own water company's website for what applies to your premises.

What it means for a small business

Physical climate risk isn't only about floods. A government direction to protect drinking water is a sign that supply in these areas is under real pressure, and a business that can't run without water, such as a café, salon, care home, gym, laundry or food producer, should plan for the chance of restrictions. The direction's stated aim is to reduce the likelihood of rota cuts or supply interruption, not to announce them.

It also matters for tenders. Buyers increasingly ask suppliers which climate risks could affect delivery and what they do about them. Our post on climate risk questions in tenders has model answers, and climate risk for suppliers explains how it fits a TCFD-style reply. A dated note that one of your sites is in an area the government has declared in severe drought, and what you did about it, is exactly the kind of specific answer evaluators score.

What to do now

  1. Save water. Fix leaks and dripping taps, fit spray taps and dual flush, and only run full dishwasher and washing machine loads. Check what your water company's temporary use ban covers.
  2. Record your water use from your bills, in cubic metres. Metered bills show m³ (1 m³ is 1,000 litres). A year of readings is your baseline for both the drought plan and your carbon footprint.
  3. Add drought to your climate risk register. For each site, write down the water company, whether the area is in drought, the date you checked and what you'd do if supply was restricted. Our climate risk assessment guide has a one-row-per-site table, and how to check the flood risk for your premises covers the other half of the water picture.
  4. Look again each month. The direction is reviewed monthly, and the Environment Agency publishes a drought report every week.

Where water sits in your carbon report

Water is a Scope 3 emission. Mains water supply goes in category 1, purchased goods and services, and wastewater treatment in category 5, waste generated in operations, which a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan asks for. Take an illustrative 15-person office using 200 m³ of water a year, with wastewater estimated at 95% of supply:

  • Supply: 200 m³ × 0.1913 = 38 kg CO2e
  • Wastewater: 190 m³ × 0.17088 = 32 kg CO2e
  • Total: 71 kg, or 0.07 tonnes CO2e at the 2026 UK government factors

Cutting use by a fifth saves 40 m³ of water and about 14 kg CO2e a year. The carbon is small; the water is the point in a drought. If the water you save is hot water, the carbon saving is much bigger, because heating it takes energy: our post on water and your carbon footprint explains why.

How Carbon Recycling helps

In Carbon Recycling you enter water supply and wastewater from your bills in cubic metres. It applies the right year's government factor, puts supply in category 1 and wastewater in category 5, and suggests 95% of supply for wastewater when your bill doesn't show it. Each of your sites keeps its own postcode and figures, so the cubic metres you record for the drought plan are the same ones in your carbon report and Carbon Reduction Plan. The Climate risk add-on, coming soon, adds flood and heat risk for each site; until then, the free climate risk assessment guide shows how to record drought alongside them.