Shropshire reservoirs brimming again after drought

Officials at the Environment Agency have revealed reservoir water stocks are at a record high after one of the wettest summers on record. And they have revealed Lake Vyrnwy reservoir is now 100 per cent full.

The reservoir is normally at 80 per cent capacity.

Rivers are also full and farmers are battling to bring in crops that are sitting in waterlogged ground.

Officials at South Staffs Water have also revealed that their stocks – aided by water from Chelmarsh Reservoir near Bridgnorth, are also 'very healthy'.

But they have said water levels at Chelmarsh were not an accurate indicator as it is used as a storage reservoir for supplies pumped from the River Severn.

In March water flow along the River Severn was 77 per cent of expected levels for the time of year and experts were warning farmers that groundwater levels in the Severn Valley were 'exceptionally low'.

It came after Shropshire suffered its lowest rainfall for more than half a century.

Dave Throup from the Environment Agency said: "Amazingly, reservoir stocks in England and Wales are at record highs. Who would have guessed that during the March drought?

"During the spring Lake Vyrnwy escaped the worst of the water shortages, although in March it was only at 92 per cent capacity, almost unheard of after a Welsh winter.

"Now, in September, when it is normally less than 80 per cent full, the reservoir is 100 per cent full."

Jessica Campbell for the Environmental Agency in the Midlands said engineers had been regularly releasing water over the dam and into the River Vyrnwy which meets the River Severn in Shropshire.

"The Environment Agency has been making draw downs from the reservoir to reduce the risk of flooding later in the year," she said.

Mike Lawrence of South Staffs Water said water passing through Chelmarsh and Hampton Loade was not used to supply homes and businesses in Shropshire.