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The week in brief · Week 45 · 2–8 November
The summer's drought has outlived the summer. London's reservoirs went into November barely half full and Denver's are a third short of normal, while groundwater warnings spread across Central Europe. England's government chose this week to move water planning closer to the regions, the Gulf signed up for more seawater desalination a month before the UN Water Conference opens in Abu Dhabi, and a new count put the number of Americans whose tap water contains PFAS at close to 200 million.
On 6 November Thames Water marked 100 days since the Environment Agency declared drought in London and the Thames Valley. The numbers explain why cooler weather has changed little. Between March and September the region received only 34% of the rainfall recorded over the same months of 2024, and from August to October it got 80.8% of the long-term average, against 156.8% in 2024. On 3 November total London reservoir storage stood at 56%, compared with a seasonal average of 77%, and Farmoor Reservoir was at 76%. Many groundwater sites remain below normal.
The company says it is fixing more than 1,000 leaks a week, around 20% more than usual, with 18% more staff out finding them than last year. The temporary use ban stays in place for all customers and will be lifted only after substantial rainfall. Thames Water's head of water resources warned that the forecast for the first half of November looked relatively dry.
