The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) has warned that despite recent rainfall, the south east is still at risk of suffering the most severe drought of the last 100 years.
CIWEM said that although heavy rains have increased river flows and many reservoirs levels appear to be recovering, the current drought remains a reality.
It warned that with two consecutive dry winters and the driest 18 months in the south east since 1932, groundwater levels are accordingly low in many of the aquifers that support the water resources, rivers and wetlands.
The Environment Agency has now warned that the drought is extending into Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk and could lead to bans for much of East Anglia.
Latest climate change scenarios suggest that droughts will become more severe and more frequent in the future - though perhaps the risk of multiple year droughts may become less, if drier summers are indeed separated by wetter winters, as postulated.
Dr Colin Fenn, chair of CIWEM's Water Resources Panel, said: "Despite the quite marked regional variations in the intensity of the current drought, we should all redouble our efforts to use water wisely and carefully, in the home as well outside of it."
