Severn Trent Water granted drought permit for Derbyshire reservoirs

A drought permit has been granted to take more water from Staunton Harold Reservoir this month

A water company has been given permission to take more water from two reservoirs to top up their supply in the event of another dry summer.

The Environment Agency granted the drought permit to Severn Trent Water to take the water until the end of March.

They will take extra supplies from the Foremark and Staunton Harold reservoirs in Derbyshire.

A Severn Trent spokesman said they made the decision after a high demand for water during last year's heatwave.

A hosepipe ban was introduced last year during the driest summer since records began in 1961.

'No environmental impact'

Reservoir levels were at their lowest in September last year at 54%, with them not reaching above 75% between July and November.

Severn Trent said rainfall in the East Midlands had also been considerably below average for the last eight months so it hoped the permit would help them prepare.

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Drought permits allow water companies to manage their water resources during a drought.

With the permit, Severn Trent Water hopes to increase the amount of water it takes from the reservoirs by 4,000,000 cubic metres per year.

It said using these reservoirs would reduce its use of others and allow them to refill.

The firm said customers will not see any changes to the service and it is "not expecting any negative impact on the environment".