Concerns about water supplies in Lincolnshire following heatwave

There's said to have been a lack of rainfall since April

Water
Author: Andy MarshPublished 20th Jul 2022

The heatwave may be over but it's left an impact on Lincolnshire.

Yesterday Coningsby recorded the highest temperature ever in the UK at 40.3 celcius.

Meanwhile questions are being asked about what lessons should be learned from the hot spell.

It followed both Lincolnshire and Humberside fire and rescue declaring major incidents.

Questions include just how rapid is climate chance and how well did emergency services cope.

Also there are questions about low water supplies across the county.

That's not an issue that's suddenly emerged during the heatwave but one that's being building with a lack of rainfall since early spring.

We spoke to Leadenham farmer Andrew Ward on the issue.

He told us: "We rely on our crops yielding as much as we can, when I say that I mean getting as much tonnes per acre or hectare.".

"If there is a shortage of something such as water or moisture that will mean the crops perform not as well and that means less food on supermarket shelves so that has an impact all down the line to every single person in the country."

We also spoke to Yvonne Dayley from the Environment Agency who explains what they are doing to tackle this.

"We are working with our partners including internal drainage boards and water companies to ensure the situation is monitored effectively to try and reduce the impact of the dry weather on the water environment."