'Day Zero' where UK reservoirs run dry could happen before Christmas, ministers are secretly warned

Ministers have been secretly warned that reservoirs could run dry within weeks, causing chaos for families in the run-up to Christmas.

The Government's emergency committee, Cobra, is meeting twice a week for crisis talks about water provision in the south-west of England and Sussex.

A 'reasonable worst-case scenario' drawn up by officials suggested water stocks could plummet to 0 per cent in weeks.

Without action, it could lead to taps running dry in homes and affect the construction of a nuclear power plant.

Wimbleball reservoir, which supplies more than 400,000 people in Somerset, is currently at 13 per cent capacity, while Ardingly, which serves 280,000 customers in West Sussex, is at just 17 per cent.

A summer of record-breaking heatwaves led to widespread droughts, with some parts of England still under hosepipe bans even after two autumn storms have hit the country.

Sussex and the south-west were two of the areas worst affected by the lack of rainfall, having faced their driest April to September for more than a century and are still facing critically low water supplies.

Crisis plans have been drawn up for a terrifying 'Day Zero' scenario where reservoirs run completely dry in each area.

Fears of winter droughts have led to requests from water companies for the Government to impose non-essential use bans which would prevent businesses from being able to operate car washes, water sports fields and refill private pools.

Southern Water, South East Water and South West Water have all called on Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle to consider such bans.

South West Water has told the Government privately it does not anticipate Wimbleball running dry, due to preventative measures it had put in place, while South East Water does not expect to run dry until next year, if situations don't improve.

However, concerns still remain for provisions in Devon's Venford reservoir and 'day zero' risk monitoring has begun for Stithians and Drift reservoirs in Cornwall.

Even if the reservoirs did run completely dry, water companies would likely be able to transfer supplies from elsewhere. 

Despite wet weather returning across the country, experts warned that normal levels of rainfall will not be enough to counteract the effects of the drought.

Officials said rainfall would need to be 120 per cent higher than average in the next six months in order to provide a nationwide recovery. 

Water companies have been told to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and tougher water quality monitoring, and the Environment Agency will increase compliance checks on businesses that abstract water to ensure they are only taking permitted amounts.

Last week Dame Angela ordered the Environment Agency to prioritise public water supply and allow fewer releases of reservoir water into rivers to help clean them and keep ecosystems healthy to reduce 'supply interruption'. 

However, this has led to fears about the effect such a move could have on salmon and other fish, which could perish due to a lack of clean water. 

A Government spokesman told The Times: 'Customer water supplies remain uninterrupted. We have instructed water companies to transfer water to support the lowest reservoirs, speed up leak detection and deliver daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels to help ease the pressure on public supplies.' 

South West Water said it was not expecting any water restrictions in early November. It said: 'We are taking urgent action to protect drinking water supplies, repairing around 440 leaks a week and transferring three million litres of water a day to areas where it is needed most. 

'We are also exploring additional water sources and working directly with households and high-using businesses to reduce consumption.'

South East Water said 'day zero' was not being considered for 2027 given the actions it had taken. Southern Water and EDF Energy, the company behind the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant development, declined to comment.

John Halsall, chief executive of South East Water, previously told the Daily Mail, supplies in the region are now under 'severe pressure' and standpipes may appear on British streets for the first time in 50 years.

Mr Halsall also ended exemptions to a months-long hosepipe ban in Sussex – with the rules expected to be in place until next year.

However, he admitted his company's efforts to persuade customers to use less water had not been as successful as hoped – with water demand falling by about 5 per cent rather than around 10 per cent as expected.

Mr Halsall also recognised that outages in Tunbridge Wells and other towns and villages had undermined customer confidence.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy previously said: 'Record-breaking summer heat and severe drought have put our water resources under immense pressure.

'Recovery depends on both rainfall and how much water we use.

'We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now. We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies.

'We are also asking everyone to use less water. That will leave more in our rivers and the environment, helping farmers and protecting wildlife and nature.'

The Environment Agency has granted South East Water’s drought permit application to reduce the amount of water Ardingly reservoir releases each day to the River Ouse by three million litres.

Separately, it has granted a drought permit application by South West Water to reduce the amount of water sent to the River Exe each day by nine million litres.

Last week a drought declaration was made for Yorkshire, with all of England now in drought except for the North West and North East which remain in prolonged dry weather status.