Farmers can apply for winter reservoir top-ups

Farmers with winter storage reservoirs which are running very low because of the dry winter may be able to apply for permission to top them up.

The Environment Agency has announced that as part of its drought summit in June 2011 abstractors asked if they could take advantage of summer high flows to refill their reservoirs this year.

After consideration, the agency has agreed to develop a fast-track application process, which will be open until 1 September 2011.

This will allow farmers with winter only abstraction licences to apply to vary them so they can take advantage of high flows until 1 November 2011.

Permission, if granted, will apply for this year only and will be subject to conditions and within current licensed quantities.

In a statement the Environment Agency said any abstractors who had enough water this summer, but wanted to take summer 2012 high flows, should use the normal application process, rather than the fast-track one.

“We can then target our limited resources on the abstractors who have an urgent need to top-up their reservoirs (due to low water resources during their normal winter fill period) before the summer abstraction period ends on 31 October 2010.”

The agency said the change in the rules would not change anything else on the licence and it would waive the annual charge for summer high flow abstraction.