The Guardian | By: Damian Carrington | Saturday 24 June 2017 07.01 BST:
Freedom-of-information data reveals threat of drought that would devastate wildlife, with government slow to act on water management.
A quarter of England’s rivers are at risk of running dry, with devastating consequences for wildlife, according to data obtained by WWF under freedom of information rules.
Fish are most obviously affected when rivers slow to a trickle, particularly those that migrate upstream such as salmon, trout, eels and lampreys. But animals such as water voles are also harmed, as they are unable to escape predators by fleeing into rivers to reach underwater entrances to their burrows. Birds such as kingfishers, sandpipers and dippers also suffer, as the insects and small fish they feed on die out.
The rules governing how much water can be taken from rivers have not been updated for more than half a century and take no account of the water needed to sustain the ecological health of rivers. The government published proposed reforms in 2011 and had legislation drawn up early in 2017, but did not find parliamentary time to act.
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