Drought: how it is managed in England

Overview

The Environment Agency has a duty to safeguard water resources in England and make sure there is enough water for people and the environment. We do this by: 

• regulating the abstraction of water  

• monitoring the environment   

• working with the water industry and other abstractors to ensure they manage their water supplies effectively   

We monitor, assess, report and act to minimise the impact of drought on the environment, whilst balancing the needs of people and business.  

The ‘Drought: how it is managed in England’ document is the updated version of the ‘National Drought Response Framework’ released in 2017. It describes:    

• how drought affects England    

• how the Environment Agency works with government, water companies and others to manage the effects on people, business and the environment   

Each of the Environment Agency’s 14 operational areas also produce their own area drought plans, which serve as operational guidelines for their response to drought. The ‘Drought: how it is managed in England’ document supports the area drought plans by providing:   

• a strategic overview for how we manage a drought to minimise damage to the environment, agriculture and to secure essential public water supply   

• information for our staff, government departments and stakeholders to use in planning for and managing drought    

This consultation will help us to gather feedback and input on the document, and to draw out any area-specific concerns that should be considered by our operational areas as they update their area drought plans.

Why your views matter

Our changing climate means we will see more extreme weather in the coming years – droughts are likely to become more frequent and more severe. The drought of 2022 showed just how quickly the environment, agriculture, public water supply, navigation and all society can be affected by drought. 

We need to incorporate lessons learnt and other improvements to update our strategic overview of drought management in England and our area drought plans, to provide joined-up guidance that will put us in the best position to respond to the next drought. 

We would like to hear:  

• your feedback and suggestions on the ‘Drought – How we manage it in England’ document 
• your views and comments on how we respond to drought at a local level  

Scope of comments 

We will consider comments that are related to:  

• the ‘Drought: how it is managed in England’ document 
• local drought management and issues as outlined in the questions 

For other concerns outside of this, please email the National Customer Contact Centre at enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk and they will forward these to the appropriate team. 

Responding to this consultation 

Important dates 

This consultation will start on 8 November 2024 and end on 10 January 2025. 

Respond by email 

If you prefer, you can submit your response by email to drought.national@environment-agency.gov.uk using the response form included with this consultation on Citizen Space. Please email your response form with the subject header of ‘Consultation response: drought management framework’.  

Ask for a printed version 

Please contact us if you would like a printed version of the consultation document sent to you. 

You can do this by contacting: 

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.