Striking aerial images have revealed how a brimming reservoir has been reduced to a small trickle by the recent heatwave.
Sweltering temperatures have dried out Howden Reservoir in Derbyshire from a full basin to just a shallow stream, peeling back the layer of water and exposing the muddy banks below the surface.
The 1.9 million gallons of water which bend through the stunning forests of the Upper Derwent Valley, usually pulls hordes of tourists to the Peak District beauty spot.
But record low rainfall and the relentlessly beating sun have starved the reservoir of water which much of the region relies on.
Astonishing aerial images have revealed how the brimming Howden Reservoir has been reduced to a pathetic trickle by the recent heatwave
The 1.9million gallons of water have receded after record low rainfall and the relentlessly beating sun starved the reservoir of water
Sweltering temperatures have dried out Howden Reservoir in Derbyshire from a full basin to just a shallow stream, peeling back the layer of water and exposing the muddy banks below the surface
Some parts of the reservoir have completely dried out and resemble a desert, rather than the natural wonder which usually bursts with colour
A shallow and narrow stream of water trickles through the Peak District reservoir which has been starved of water during the heatwave
record low rainfall and the relentlessly beating sun have starved the reservoir of water which much of the region relies on
Some parts of the reservoir have completely dried out and resemble a desert, rather than the natural wonder which usually bursts with colour.
The reservoir, which has dried out before, sits behind Howden Dam which was took a 12 years to build at the turn of the 20th century.
The dam is of solid masonry construction, and 117ft tall, 1,080 ft long, and impounds 1,900,000 gallons of water, from a catchment area of 5,155 acres.
Several men died building the colossal dam and are buried at a nearby church. The dam’s design is unusual as it includes two of the totally enclosed stone bellmouth overflows – locally named ‘plugholes’.
The overflows, which are 80ft in diameter and 15ft deep, originally had walkways around the base.
The tourist hotspot is the lowest of three dams in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire – with water uses including river control and supply into the drinking water system.
In recent weeks, Britons have basked in baking temperatures as the coronavorus lockdown was eased, allowing the public to gather in outdoor areas.
Unusually warm spring weather pulled the mercury to as high as 28C in May, which was barely blighted by rainfall.
But while sun-seekers have enjoyed the recent heat, it has parched reservoirs across the country and threatened water supplies.
Locals have noted the worrying low water levels over the past few months. Sue Billcliffe tweeted: ‘The scenery is stunning the weather is perfect but upper derwent reservoir and Howden Reservoir and lady bower is desperately getting low wont be long before we are being told to be careful with our water usage.’
The 1.9 million gallons of water which bend through the stunning forests of the Upper Derwent Valley, usually pulls hordes of tourists to the Peak District beauty spot
Two people play on the mudbanks which have been exposed after the layer of water usually covering it has been peeled back
The tourist hotspot is the lowest of three dams in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire – with water uses including river control and supply into the drinking water system
Bottled water was being sent to vulnerable residents last night after dry weather and high demand caused a reservoir to almost run dry.
A water company in Hertfordshire has warned of major problems with its supply after residents reported being without water or having extremely low pressure coming out of their taps.
Affinity Water said its storage reservoir north of Watford has almost run empty due to the ‘exceptionally high demand’ for water while so many people are at home during the pandemic lockdown and the current dry weather.
Customers were urged to use water sparingly during this time and to keep water usage to a ‘minimum’.
The water supplier apologised in a text to residents to alert them to the issues and put information on social media.
The text read: ‘We’d like to give you a heads up that some of our customers in Watford may experience low pressure and supply interruptions tonight.
‘We apologise for any impact this may have on you. We have treatment centres working at maximum capacity, pumping an extra 108 million litres of water a day, the equivalent of 400,000 people in order to meet demand.’
The reservoir sits behind Howden Dam which was took a 12 years to build at the turn of the 20th century
While sun-seekers have enjoyed the recent heat, it has parched reservoirs across the country and threatened water supplies
Unusually warm spring weather pulled the mercury to as high as 28C in May, which was barely blighted by rainfall
Affinity warned due to the combination of warm weather and more people being at home the water pressure dropped.
The company also tweeted: ‘Our storage reservoir North of Watford has almost run empty due to the exceptionally high demand for water at present.
‘The impact to you is that you may not get the pressure you normally would overnight from about 9pm.
‘You may also get airlocks within your plumbing system as a result. We are responding to an extraordinary increase in demand as a result of extraordinary circumstances – the combination of the warm weather and with us all being at home.
‘Our key worker teams are working to fix it by adapting our network so that we can recharge our storage reservoirs tonight. We are delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers.
‘We also have teams in the area to provide support to all of our customers. We know this is an issue and we are sorry for the impact this is having on you.’
On Monday the company asked people to keep water usage to a ‘minimum’ after some issues with water pressure – and sent out a similar warning in the latter part of May as well.