Drought-hit UK utility firm asks for more water

The aptly named James Thirst in the Independent (UK): A utility firm hit by north-west England's driest start to the year since 1929 wants to take more water from lakes and rivers. The Environment Agency (EA) said United Utilities, which supplies water to the area, will apply for a drought permit tomorrow after many reservoirs dropped to under half of their capacity.

Despite the shortage in the North West, the EA said there was "little threat" to supplies elsewhere in England and Wales.

Trevor Bishop, the EA's head of water resources, said: "We are working closely with United Utilities to make sure they are doing everything they can to secure water supplies, manage customer demand and tackle leakage." The EA said the North West had seen its driest start to the year since 1929….

Derwentwater from east of Friar's Crag. The water in the lake is depleted in this picture by several feet due to the drought of July 2006. This shingle would not normally be visible. Shot by Andy Beecroft, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK, under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.