Parts of England were close to running out of water during last summer’s drought, with the government receiving advice that water companies might be forced to break the law to keep supplies flowing, according to documents seen by The Times.
In a briefing last September to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (EA) warned that half of reservoirs were “classed as exceptionally low”, and five were at their lowest level on record and close to “dead storage”, where it is unclear whether the remaining water is treatable.
Environmental charities said the documents, obtained by Unearthed, the investigative journalism unit of Greenpeace, show how ill prepared water companies were for climate change and highlighted the need for more investment.
“How
