Photos show low water levels at Ardingly Reservoir in West Sussex as dry weather continues

The images, which were submitted to this newspaper on Tuesday, August 18, show how far the water level has fallen over the past two months thanks to the natural marks of the previous shorelines.

The Environment Agency (EA) has recently recorded the water stock at Ardingly Reservoir as ‘notably low’.

An EA report, updated on August 7, said: “Met Office reported July as the driest on record for England, with just 10 per cent of the long-term average (LTA) rainfall for the month.”

An August 14 update said: “For August so far, England has received six per cent of the long-term average (LTA) for the month as a whole.

"The majority of river flow sites are below normal or lower for the time of year, with 15 sites now classed as exceptionally low. Groundwater levels continue their seasonal recession, with a third of sites classed as below normal or lower.

“Reservoir storage for England has fallen to 65.9 per cent, 13.8 per cent below the LTA, and five reservoirs are now classed as exceptionally low.”

The update included a map of reservoirs across the UK, showing that Ardingly’s water level was at 56 per cent capacity and classified as ‘notably low’.

South East Water confirmed the low level at www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/locations/reservoir-levels saying: “As of Sunday 9 August 2026, Ardingly Reservoir and Arlington Reservoir are 55.7 per cent and 67.2 per cent full, respectively.”

But the water supply company also said: “Our reservoirs might look a bit low at the end of summer, but this is completely normal. We refill them between October and April when there’s more rain and higher river flows.”

It added that Ardingly and Arlington can store up to 8,300 million litres of water and supply eight per cent of all the drinking water that South East Water provides to its customers.