River Severn Drought Order Application

Environment Agency and The Natural Resources Body for Wales River Severn Drought Order 2026

The Planning Inspectorate is scheduled to hold a public hearing in relation to the Environment Agency and The Natural Resources Body for Wales River Severn Drought Order 2026 application at 10am on Thursday 03 September 2026 on Microsoft Teams.

If you plan to attend please contact the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Government by sending an e-mail to: water.resources@defra.gov.uk and water.EPC@wales.gov.uk by midday on Wednesday 2 September 2026.

Up to the time of the hearing, there is the possibility that it could be cancelled if all of the objections made in relation to the application are resolved or withdrawn prior to the commencement of the scheduled hearing.

• Capping the maximum release from Llyn Clywedog reservoir at 300 megalitres per day (Ml/d).
   
• Reducing the prescribed flow at Bewdley from a single daily mean of 727 Ml/d and 850 Ml/d averaged over 5 days to a target of 730 Ml/d averaged over 5 days.
   
• Reducing the prescribed flow at Bewdley below the target flow of 730 Ml/d averaged over 5 days if River Severn Regulation releases can no longer achieve it.
   
• Imposing a 5% reduction on water company licensed abstractions on the River Severn.
   
• Imposing a 300 Ml/d abstraction cap on the Gloucester Docks abstraction for the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal in England, when flows at Deerhurst or Haw Bridge gauge are below 1,200 Ml/d.
   
• Capping releases from Llyn Clywedog reservoir to 1.5% of remaining storage if storage in Llyn Clywedog reservoir falls below the ‘emergency storage’ trigger.

The anticipated effect of the drought order if granted, will lower flows and water levels along the River Severn to conserve water in Llyn Clywedog reservoir. Conserving water will allow releases to continue for longer to protect migratory fish and ecology during the worst of the drought and ensure the reservoir can refill more quickly to provide better protection in subsequent dry years. Without the drought order, releases from Llyn Clywedog reservoir are at risk of stopping and sections of the upper Severn could be at risk of drying out, resulting in the whole river experiencing record minimum flows and environmental stress.

The impacts from operating the River Severn Drought Order are predicted to be temporary and once normal rainfall returns, the environment should improve naturally and recover within one to three years. This is consistent with the expected natural drought recovery period.