Sussex in severe drought despite heavy rain from storms
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 11:02 · Archive
Sussex remains in severe drought despite recent storms bringing heavy rain and damage to the county.
Sussex remains in severe drought despite recent storms bringing heavy rain and significant damage to the county. The declaration reflects depleted reservoir levels rather than current weather conditions. Storm Austen and Storm Boelo, the first two named storms of the season, have brought lashing rain and heavy winds, causing part of Brighton's West Pier to collapse into the sea, a petrol station roof in Newhaven to come loose, and trees to fall on railway lines and platforms.
The severe drought declaration was prompted by concerns over two major reservoirs: Ardingly in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset. Ardingly serves 280,000 customers across East and West Sussex and was recorded at 17.1% full on 18 October, down from 19.4% a day earlier. The Environment Agency concluded that reservoir levels have been significantly depleted by the South East experiencing its driest April to September in over a century.
South East Water has reduced the daily volume of water released from Ardingly Reservoir into the River Ouse to protect drinking supplies. Storm Boelo brought 80mph gusts and further disruption across Sussex, with fallen trees blocking railway lines between Angmering and Littlehampton, and between Eastbourne and Lewes, causing signalling failures along the coast.
How it is being reported
- Storm Boelo brings travel chaos and emergency callouts across SussexSussex was hit by another storm as the county dealt with the aftermath of Storm Austen, bringing more disruption and damage.The Argus · 25 Oct, 10:20
- Rain returns but parts of Sussex still in severe droughtRain has been lashing the county in Storm Austen - so why is Sussex still in a severe drought?BBC Sussex · 25 Oct, 07:07
In this story: South East Water · Ardingly Reservoir · Sussex · Environment Agency · Wimbleball · Brighton
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem
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