Are UK reservoirs really full – and will we have enough water for the next summer?

It feels like we’ve gone from “hosepipe ban panic” to “will it ever stop raining?” in the blink of an eye.

After a long, dry spring and summer last year, much of the UK is now seeing persistent rainfall. Rivers are high, fields are waterlogged, and flooding headlines are back. Which raises the obvious question:

Are the reservoirs actually full – and does this mean we’re safe if we get another dry spring and summer?

Rain now doesn’t automatically mean water later

Heavy winter rain certainly helps refill reservoirs, but it’s not a silver bullet.

• Reservoirs don’t capture all rainfall – much of it runs straight off saturated ground into rivers and out to sea.

• Short, intense downpours are far less useful than steady rainfall that soaks into catchments.

• Some regions benefit far more than others – the north and west often do well, while the south and east remain vulnerable.

In other words, floods in January don’t guarantee taps flowing freely in July.

The real risk: another dry spring

The UK’s water system relies heavily on winter recharge of reservoirs, aquifers, and groundwater. If we move from a wet winter into:

• a dry spring

• early heatwaves

• high demand for irrigation and domestic use

…then reservoir levels can fall alarmingly fast – exactly what we saw last year.

Climate change is making this worse by pushing us towards weather extremes: long dry spells punctuated by intense rain that’s hard to store.

Are we better prepared than last year?

In some places, yes. Many reservoirs are currently healthier than they were this time last year. But the bigger issues haven’t gone away:

• Leaky infrastructure still wastes billions of litres a day

• Population growth continues to push demand upwards

• New reservoirs and water transfers take decades to deliver

So while the rain is welcome, it’s not a reason for complacency.

What can we do – even when it’s pouring down?

Oddly enough, wet winters are the perfect time to prepare for dry summers:

• Install or use water butts

• Think about greywater reuse

• Fix dripping taps and inefficient toilets

• Rethink gardens: fewer thirsty lawns, more drought-resilient planting

Saving water isn’t about panic – it’s about resilience.

The bottom line

Yes, the rain helps.
Yes, some reservoirs are recovering.

But one wet winter does not cancel out years of increasing drought risk. If last summer taught us anything, it’s that the UK can no longer rely on “normal” weather patterns.

The question isn’t “will it rain again?”
It’s “are we ready if it doesn’t?”