Striking photos show how the heatwave is impacting on Derbyshire's reservoirs

Weeks of sunshine and soaring temperatures may have been welcomed by the majority of us, but for others they have led to worries over water supplies and the threat of fire in the Peak District.

Towns and villages have been left with parched gardens and parks, fire warnings are in place on our tinder dry moorlands while the county’s reservoirs appear to be dry and barren.

And these stunning photos by Rod Kirkpatrick of F Stop Press show how the reservoirs in the Derwent Valley currently look following the longest dry spell in more than 40 years.
Water levels have dropped to reveal a landscape looking close to how it would have appeared before the Howden, Derwent and Ladybower dams were built in the early 1900s and 1940s.

However, Severn Trent says water capacity stands at 83 per cent regionally - which it says is healthy for this time of year even allowing for high demand.

The company has ramped up its treatment operations and piped 300 million litres of extra water into the pipes, with 37,727 megalitres currently sat in the Carsington and Ogston reservoir group - and another 31,771 million lites in the Howden, Derwent and Ladybower network.

But Severn Trent says customers should continue to exercise good judgement.

Water efficiency expert Doug Clarke said: “We need people to think about how they’re using water – using a sprinkler might green up your lawn but that water would be better used for drinking or washing.

“We’re going to continue producing as much water as we can, but our pipes can only carry so much water. And that’s why we just need people to think long and hard about their water usage while this hot weather continues.”

He revealed that each person in the Severn Trent region uses around 133 litres of water on an average day and right now ‘we’ve seen that jump up to a whopping 170 litres a day’.

“If everyone could just use around 20 litres less each it would make a massive difference to our supplies,” he said.

Tips include taking showers instead of baths when possible - and washing cars using a bucket and sponge rather than a hosepipe.

The heat is parching pristine lawns and flower beds, but gardeners are being advised to put away their sprinklers - which can use more water in one hour than a family of four gets through in a whole day.

Doug said: “Jobs like washing the car or watering the lawn can also wait, it’s far more important you use your water to keep cool and

hydrated in this heat, plus it’s a great excuse to get out of any weekend jobs and put your feet up.”

Meanwhile, forecasters are predicting there will be no rainfall until the middle of next week - with the coming days expected to stay warm and dry with temperatures in the mid-20s.