The Environment Agency (EA) has accepted Severn Trent’s request for a drought permit for the Derwent Valley – the water company made an application to the EA on 3^rd October.

The permit will allow Severn Trent to release less water than normal from its Upper Derwent Valley

reservoirs into the River Derwent over the next few months. The long dry period during the summer has had a significant impact on the reservoir levels. The company decided to apply for a permit in the winter months, when the river levels are naturally at their highest so any impact on rivers will be minimal.

The company’s abstraction licence allows it to abstract water from specified locations on the Derwent Valley Reservoirs for supply to its customers and for supply to Yorkshire Water.

The licence also includes conditions relating to maintenance of compensation flows from the reservoirs to the River Derwent.

The drought permit aids the winter refill of the reservoirs and helps to safeguard public water supplies within Severn Trent’s wider strategic water supply grid and to southern Sheffield in Yorkshire Water’s supply area.

It does this by allowing the company to temporarily reduce the minimum combined quantity of compensation water required to be discharged to the River Derwent from Ladybower Reservoir and to the Jaggers Clough. The drought permit will also allow Severn Trent to temporarily add a new abstraction point (but not to increase the volumes of water abstracted) for the purpose of supply to Yorkshire Water.

The drought permit also reduces the volumes of water that the company can abstract from the reservoirs, during the period of the permit which commenced on 14 October 2022 and will expire on 31 March 2023.

Severn Trent commented:

“ We’re still hopeful there will be more rain through the winter which will help refill the reservoirs. However, the responsible thing to do now is not to leave anything to chance, and make sure we have plenty of water ready for next summer.”