Answered by Nick Ellins, Head of Consumer Strategy at Water UK

Its been pouring with rain here recently, are we now over the drought and are water levels back to normal in the South East?

With the recent rainfall, and the continued support of customers in managing demand for water, the South East is starting to recover from what has been a serious drought. Many rivers and reservoirs are now at higher levels than at this time last year.

However, after a long period of the drought depleting resources, it will take more than a few weeks of rain to restore the balance. Each water company is in a unique position in terms of how much rain has fallen in their region and the water resources that are available to them. This is because the range of water sources - rivers, reservoirs and underground aquifers – can vary from company to company, just as the amount of water available in each of these sources can too. For example, in the Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Thames Valley regions, around 70% of the water supplies are drawn from underground sources, with the remaining water abstracted from rivers and reservoirs.

However, in London, around 80% of all water supplies come from surface water sources, such as the River Thames and River Lee, with groundwater accounting for the final 20% of water supplied. Water companies in the South East are constantly monitoring the situation but will continue to take a cautious approach until they are confident that sources are recovering sufficiently to meet the demand for water next spring and summer.