Sussex has been added to the prolonged dry weather area, joining Hampshire and the Isle of Wight after the Environment Agency concluded that pressure on local water resources is intensifying. The government notice points to a familiar combination: persistent heat, limited rainfall over recent months and higher seasonal demand for water. The operational effect is already visible. South East Water says temporary use bans will take effect on Saturday 25 July 2026 across Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire, adding those areas to Kent. The same notice says the Cuckmere River is now too low for abstraction, affecting Arlington reservoir in Sussex.
For policy readers, prolonged dry weather sits below a formal drought declaration but carries clear regulatory consequences. The Environment Agency says the status places it in a position to consider requests about water use and to react quickly to incidents caused by heat and pressure on rivers, reservoirs and the wider environment. That matters because the response to water stress is staged rather than sudden. The designation does not in itself amount to a full drought order process, but it does move regulators and water companies into a more active phase of drought planning, operational control and environmental monitoring.
The rainfall pattern set out by the Environment Agency helps explain why one wetter month has not resolved the position. In the Solent and South Downs operational area, June rainfall reached 75mm, or 136% of the long-term average, but that followed three markedly drier months: 33mm in March, or 58% of average; 9.4mm in April, or 17%; and 32mm in May, or 63%. Earlier in the year, January and February were both unusually wet at 186mm and 143mm, equivalent to 193% and 212% of average. The Agency's assessment is therefore not based on a simple monthly snapshot. It reflects the sequence of conditions over time and the fact that spring dryness can continue to affect river flows, reservoir recharge and ecological health even after above-average rain in June.
The reference to the Cuckmere River and Arlington reservoir shows how local hydrology is shaping the regulatory response. When river levels fall too low for abstraction, the issue is not confined to a single watercourse. It can limit the volume of raw water available for storage and reduce the options open to a supplier trying to balance demand, environmental obligations and network resilience. For households and businesses, that translates into visible restrictions and a stronger emphasis on demand management. For regulators, it creates a more immediate need to judge whether any further changes in water use can be justified without causing additional environmental harm.
The government notice also sets out the division of responsibilities between regulators and ministers. The Environment Agency, as sector regulator in this context, decides any drought permit requests. Applications for drought orders, by contrast, are decided by Defra and the Secretary of State, with the Environment Agency supplying the technical assessment of what any proposal would mean for both public supply and the natural environment. In plain English, that separates direct regulatory decisions from the more formal order-making route. The Environment Agency can determine permit requests itself, but when a case moves into drought order territory, ministers become the decision-makers and the Agency's role shifts to formal technical advice.
National coordination is being handled through the National Drought Group, which the government says includes the Met Office, government departments, regulators, water companies, the National Farmers' Union, the Canal & River Trust, anglers and conservation specialists. Its purpose is to maintain a shared operational picture as dry weather conditions spread across wider parts of England. Richard O'Callaghan, the Environment Agency's environment planning and engagement manager, said prolonged dry weather is now affecting a broad stretch of the country from Cornwall to Sussex and elsewhere in England. His central point was that water use and environmental protection cannot be treated separately when pressure on supply begins to build.
The public-facing message remains relatively straightforward. The Environment Agency is backing the Let's Save Water campaign and highlights practical steps such as installing low-flow showerheads, running washing machines only at the recommended load and avoiding unnecessary pre-rinsing of dishes. For policy professionals, the more important point is that Sussex's inclusion marks a shift from routine monitoring to a more intervention-ready posture. Water companies will be expected to follow drought plans closely, regulators will apply closer scrutiny to abstraction and other water-use requests, and any further escalation will move through the permit and drought order framework already described by government.