Drought Plan
Droughts are hugely disruptive to the environment, economy and our daily lives
Our Drought Plans
We have a duty to prepare, publish and maintain Drought Plans for each of our regions; Northumbrian Water (NW) and Essex & Suffolk Water (ESW). Our Drought Plans identify what we will do before, during and after a drought to ensure we are able to provide you with a resilient water supply. They identify what measures are available to reduce demand and support supplies and the triggers that will be used to identify when actions are required. The Plans also outline how we will communicate with our customers during a drought.
Our current Drought Plans for our Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water regions were published in May 2022 following a public consultation between June and August 2021. The Drought Plans, Appendices and Drought Plan Summaries are available to download at the bottom of this page.
Please email waterresources@nwl.co.uk should you wish to view a paper copy of our Drought Plans at our offices in Durham, Hanningfield (Near Chelmsford) or Lowestoft.
Exclusions on the Grounds of National Security
Under Section 37B(10)(b) of the Water Industry Act 1991, as amended by the Water Act 2003 ("the Act"), the Secretary of State can direct companies to exclude any information from published drought plans on the grounds that it appears to him that the publication would be contrary to the interests of national security. No information has been excluded from this plan.
Our new Draft Drought Plans 2027 (2027-2032)
We are required to update our Drought Plans every five years. The first stage of this is to produce new draft Drought Plans. We submitted our draft Drought Plans 2027 to Defra on 31 March 2026 and received approval to publish for public consultation on 29 April 2026. Our consultation is now open, and we invite you to send us your comments and feedback. Please click here to go to our consultation page.