By William Turtle-Clark

Following the period of hot weather, rivers which flow through Herefordshire are experiencing particularly low water levels.

The water levels are so low that at some recording sites that no readings have been recorded at all, including at monitoring points in Ross-On-Wye and the Old Bridge in Hereford. Based on  river level data collected on Sunday the 19^th of July, the majority of river level monitoring stations in Herefordshire were recording river levels below the average for the time of year.

The River Wye is a ‘regulated river’, which, according to the Environment Agency, suffers from ‘low flows’ which can have serious consequences for wildlife, and limit the ability of abstractors to use the water they require.

As a result of the low river levels, Ross-On-Wye angling club have banned fishing from the 5th of July until further notice.

Welsh Water, the main water supplier for the county of Herefordshire, initiated a hosepipe ban on Sunday the 19^th of July for parts of West Wales, in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire due to a “prolonged period of exceptionally high demand for drinking water”.

Whilst the hosepipe ban is not currently affecting Herefordshire, the company has warned that it will limit flows overnight in some parts of the county. These areas include Burley Gate, Bromyard, Madley, Leominster and Staunton-on-Wye, where pressure drops may occur between 10.30pm and 6.30.am as a result of work to protect storage facilities.

Welsh Water also said that it has been able to maintain water supplies so far by operating treatment works to maximum capacity, using its fleet of tankers 24/7, moving water around the network and deploying teams to repair leaks and respond to local supply pressures.

In a statement, the company said, “The challenge is not due to insufficient water in reservoirs, but the level of water demand from customers being so high for a much longer period of the day that treated water storage in the network cannot be replenished quickly enough.”