Farmers are banned from watering their crops during Britain's sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 33C

Daily Mail​

21 hours ago

Farmers have been banned from watering their crops during Britain's sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 33C.
East Anglian growers have been slapped with the 'abstraction ban' until further notice - even though no other kinds of water usage in the area have been forbidden.
It comes as parts of Britain sizzle in 30C heat again today, after a searing 33C was recorded yesterday, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
This year's red-hot summer has already seen reservoirs across England run dry, hitting their lowest levels in a decade.
Meanwhile, hosepipe bans were implemented this week for around six million householders across Yorkshire and the South East.
But while a week's notice was given for these bans, East Anglian farmers saw crop irrigation forbidden by the Environment Agency (EA) without any warning at all.
They have erupted into fury, fearing the move poses a serious risk to food security - especially as East Anglia is one of the country's major farming regions.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), blasted the ban's implementation 'with no prior engagement', The Telegraph reports.
'It seems ridiculous', he added, when no drought or hosepipe ban is otherwise in place.
Some 240 farmers in the Ely Ouse catchment, which stretches across parts of Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, were hit by the ban unawares on July 3.
This Environment Agency management zone includes the cities of Cambridge and Ely, as well as market towns Saffron Walden, Bury St Edmund's and Newmarket.
The government department's own website notes the area contains 'high-grade agricultural land' and is 'predominantly rural'.
It has said it will review the indefinite ban on a daily basis.
Tim Young, who owns the 182-hectare Grange Farm near the market town of Thetford, Norfolk, said the ban is a 'huge knock' to profitability and food production.
It is especially galling, he added, while 'gardens and grass keep getting water to look nice'.
He had expected the ban might only be applied four nights a week - so was shocked to discover irrigation had been completely forbidden.
'Normally, the EA works with farmers and the NFU to give some heads-up. This came out of the blue', he said.
Mr Young said he was especially worried about the onions he grows - which easily wilt, rot and decay without regular irritation to beat the fusarium fungal disease.
The farmer, who also grows sugar beet, wheat and rye, was devastated at the thought of losing one of the best crops he has ever grown.
NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos called for more flexible abstraction rules - and support for farmers in managing increasingly extreme weather, for the sake of preserving food supply.
The EA imposes abstraction bans, also known as Section 57 restrictions, when severe drought coincides with irrigation windows.
Abstraction is the process of taking water from the environment, such as rivers, streams or springs, for use in agriculture, industry or the home.
Section 57 was heavily used in the nineties in the east of England and again during the severe droughts of 2006 - but has rarely been invoked in the last decade.
Farmers are rarely prosecuted for breaking the orders - but in 2020, one farm in Cambridgeshire had to pay £8,000 for abstracting water to irrigate potatoes.
The breach by Dennis (Haddenham) Limited, based out of Willow Farm Hall, near Ely, came during the ban implemented amid months of dry weather in 2018.
The firm then broke restrictions again less than a year later, despite already being under investigation.
While breaking abstraction bans can see farmers hit with huge fines, most water companies have never prosecuted customers for breaching hosepipe bans.
They can, in theory, be prosecuted and ordered to pay up to £1,000.
But most firms rely on homeowners' fear they will be reported by a neighbour, as well as awareness-raising about reducing water usage generally.
Growers are allowed to abstract with an EA licence - but breaching its terms can also lead to fines, as one Norfolk farmer saw last year.
Brian Rutterford, 77, whose farm is in the village of Hockwold-cum-Wilton, had pay £4,300 after pleading guilty to abstracting three times more water than he was licensed to.
It came during the record high summer temperatures of 2022, when East Anglia was in an official drought and many local water sources had run dry.
His actions, the EA said, had affected the local community's water supply.
The abstraction bans in East Anglia come as Yorkshire Water introduced hosepipe bans this week after the area saw its driest spring in a whopping 132 years.
More than a million customers in Kent and Sussex have also been slapped with a hosepipe ban, announced by South East Water on Friday.
Thames Water revealed on Thursday is would impose restrictions after 'ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand' unless the situation 'changes significantly'.
Customers were urged by the company to use water sparingly given the region it serves has seen just half of its expected rainfall over the last three months.
The EA has declared a state of 'prolonged dry weather' in large parts of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey - meaning a heightened risk of drought.
Daily demand in Swindon and Oxfordshire peaked during the UK's last heatwave on June 30 at a level not seen since in the 2022 drought, Thames Water said.
People are being encouraged to take shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing teeth and letting their lawn go dry to help reduce big increases in demand.
Bosses also warned that the extended warm weather was bringing 'increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground'.
Water companies are often hesitant to put hosepipe bans in place, fearing tanking customer satisfaction ratings.
But it comes as the latest figures show reservoirs nationwide were only 76 per cent full in June.
This is even lower than in the raging hot summer of 2022, when they were at 77 per cent at the same time of year.
The mercury hitting such high levels and thus driving up water use, plus a dry spring and summer, are primarily behind the dramatic decline in reservoir levels.
Proposals to build nine more reservoirs by 2050 were announced by the government and water companies last year.
None have been completed in England since 1992 - just after the privatisation of the water sector.
The hot weather has shown no sign of stopping this weekend, with Scotland yesterday recording its warmest day of the year, as Aviemore in the Highlands hit 32C.
The hot weather has shown no sign of stopping this weekend, with Scotland yesterday recording its warmest day of the year, as Aviemore (pictured) in the Highlands hit 32C
Meanwhile, areas like Belfast in Northern Ireland were as hot as they had been in almost three years.
By this afternoon, temperatures in cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester look set to smash the 30C mark again as the relentless heat continues.
Amber health alerts are in place for the Midlands and the south and east of England until 9am on Monday.
They warn of a potential rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
The risk of wildfires in London is also currently rated at 'severe' by the Natural Hazards Partnership.
Fire chiefs have warned of the increased risk of drowning as people try to cool off in water.
And National Rail has also warned train passengers that the hot weather may continue to cause disruption today.
On top of the amber alerts, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has yellow warnings in place until Monday for the north east, north west and Yorkshire and Humber.
A spokesperson for Water UK said: 'Water companies do everything possible to avoid restrictions on customers, including by moving water around their region and surging activity on leakage.
'However, when government-mandated trigger levels are reached, then unfortunately, a temporary use ban needs to be imposed.'
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Rapid population growth, crumbling infrastructure and a warming climate mean that without urgent action, Britain could run out of drinking water.
'We have taken swift and decisive action to secure £104billion of private sector investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.'
A Thames Water spokesman said: 'The ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand is impacting our water supplies across the Thames Valley.
'Unless the situation changes significantly, we will need to put usage restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, in place to ensure taps keep running for customers' essential use.'