// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Severe drought declared in parts of southern England
Ardingly Reservoir's level of about 20% helped spark the severe drought
A severe drought has been declared across parts of southern England after months of low rainfall.
Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex are affected by the announcement from the Environment Agency, which followed a review of water resources and drought conditions across England by the National Drought Group.
Water supplies have been significantly impacted by high demand following the hottest summer on record.
The government said customer supplies would be uninterrupted and declaring a severe drought "ensures proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs".
Ministers instructing water companies to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and tougher water quality monitoring
The Environment Agency to increase compliance checks on businesses that withdraw water from natural sources to ensure they are only taking permitted quantities of water
The map shows the areas affected by the severe drought in red
The government said the change to severe drought status had been prompted by specific concerns for two major reservoirs, Ardingly in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset.
The latest figures, external for Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor show it is at 14.9% capacity, while Ardingly is 19.4% full, external. Other major reservoirs are also low, including Roadford in Devon at 36.8%, Burrator at 33.6%, Colliford in Cornwall at 35% and Stithians at 21.9%.