The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has authorised regional water companies across southern and eastern England to introduce targeted controls on water abstraction following a prolonged period of below-average rainfall.

The emergency measures concern the withdrawal of water from natural sources. The authorisation allows companies to implement controls; it does not establish which restrictions have already taken effect or where they apply.

Environment officials stressed the importance of managing water resources sustainably and reducing leaks in infrastructure as climate variability intensifies across the United Kingdom. Their emphasis places leakage reduction alongside controls on abstraction: limiting the water taken from natural sources and reducing losses address different parts of the same resource-management problem.

The precise scope and duration of the targeted controls remain unspecified.