THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY is taking action to maintain water levels on the Severn.
As the river levels remain under pressure due to the continued lack of rainfall, Janet Friend reports.
Behind the scene
Matthew Lawrence, manager for the Environment Agency in the West Midlands, explains:
"The Severn may look like it has healthy summer flows, but this is all down to the work we are doing behind the scene, working hard to maintain river levels for people and wildlife.
"We will continue to monitor the conditions closely and will not hesitate to use our regulatory powers to mitigate the impacts of dry weather on the environment, water supplies and other sectors."
[The picture shows the river during a former drought.]
One of the key measures is the operation of the Shropshire Groundwater Scheme, which currently releases around 200 million litres of water per day into the River.
Network of underground pipelines
The groundwater is stored naturally within the sandstone aquifer beneath north Shropshire and is transferred via a 53km network of underground pipelines.
At full capacity, the scheme can deliver up to 240 million litres of water per day.
Water can also be released from two reservoirs in Wales if river levels continue to fall.
These interventions are designed to keep flows above the minimum target of 850 million litres per day, measured as a five-day average.
And of course keep levels high enough to allow navigation.