British aquifers are in “remarkable” health despite the ongoing heatwaves and surface water drought.
Groundwater, the water underneath layers of rock and soil, feeds the UK’s rivers and streams, providing around a third of the country’s public water supply.
Analysis by the British Geological Survey (BGS) has found that groundwater levels across the country are robust and in some cases higher than normal.
The high groundwater levels come despite two-thirds of England and Wales currently in drought.
This summer’s drought and repeated heatwaves have heavily impacted Britain’s farmers and resulted in many water companies enforcing hosepipe bans.
On Friday, the Environment Agency revealed the reservoir storage now stands at 66 per cent – nearly 14 points below the long-term average for this time of year.
But groundwater levels have remained normal or even higher than normal after healthy replenishment during this year’s wet winter months.
Christopher Jackson, BGS head of environmental modelling, said: “There’s far more storage in our groundwater systems than there is in our surface water reservoirs or our rivers, so it’s a huge store of water.
“So it is remarkable in that context – that even though you can get this exceptional heat and surface water drought, groundwater is doing okay.”
Aquifer levels from dozens of borehole monitoring sites around the UK at the end of July were analysed by the team.
This data was then compared back to historical records that span at least several decades, and even date back 191 years for the Chilgrove House sit in West Sussex.
Of the 35 groundwater sites sampled. 15 had levels that were “normal” or “above normal levels” compared with historical measurement for this time of year, making up 43 per cent.
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Only eight sites, or 23 per cent showed groundwater levels “notably below normal levels” and none showed record lows, the team found.
The data shows North Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia, Kent, Devon and Cornwall, all of which are currently in drought, have particularly healthy aquifers in comparison to their surface water resources.
Alan MacDonald, head of BGS Groundwater, said: “Scientists have long known that groundwater is a naturally resilient water source.
“While surface water resources often grab the headlines as they are such a visual reference point, groundwater is often overlooked as one of the country’s primary water sources.
“The extreme weather conditions this summer have really highlighted how robust these reserves are and indicate that they could play a much bigger role in mitigating the impacts of climate change in future.”
The data suggests there may be an opportunity to revisit current thresholds for pumping groundwater into the environment, the team from BSG said.
Reform UK has said it would end hosepipe bans by constructing new reservoirs and “cutting the red tape” that prevents their construction.
Nigel Farage’s party said it would treat new reservoirs as “nationally significant infrastructure” and decrease the Government’s water demand reduction targets.
Some “groundwater augmentation schemes” are currently underway, including an Environment Agency initiative to pump groundwater into the River Severn in periods of dry weather.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “A prosperous country should not have to turn the taps off in the summer. This is the consequence of the Tories importing 12 million people over 14 years, placing huge strain on our infrastructure.
“We must embrace abundance and build as many reservoirs as it takes to ensure that a lack of water is never a constraint in Britain. This is common sense.”
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