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Turn a fittings schedule into litres per person per day
Enter the WCs, taps, bath, shower and appliances and WaterMonkey applies the Approved Document G Table 1 use factors, the normalisation and the external allowance — so you can see straight away whether the scheme clears 125 or 110.
Free to calculate. Building Control-ready PDF from £25 +VAT, covering every identical plot on the site.
Quick answer: On 15 October 2026 the Environment Agency declared severe drought — the highest drought level — in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. The Environment Agency says severe drought “doesn’t automatically trigger restrictions, and it isn’t a civil emergency”. Nothing in the Government announcement changes Building Regulations or Part G.
What was announced
The declaration follows the driest April to September in over a century in the South East and South West, and little autumn rain since. It centres on the Ardingly (West Sussex) and Wimbleball (Somerset) reservoirs, and includes customers served by the Drift, Stithians, Tottiford and Venford reservoirs. The Environment Agency’s own explainer says 82% of England remains in drought.
According to the Government announcement, ministers have ordered daily reservoir and river monitoring and tougher water quality testing, the Environment Agency will step up compliance checks on abstractors, Local Resilience Forums have been activated, and the Environment Agency has been directed to prioritise public water supply over environmental rules where a trade-off is unavoidable. Government says customer supplies will remain uninterrupted.
The Environment Agency’s latest weekly report (9 to 15 October, published 16 October) shows England at 26% of its long-term average October rainfall, reservoirs at 54% full (about 21% below average), and 18 reservoir groups below half full.
What it doesn’t change
Neither the announcement nor the Environment Agency’s explainer mentions housebuilding, Building Regulations or Part G. The Part G 125 and 110 litre standards are unchanged, and we have not seen any new national requirement. The Government’s only planning reference is long-term: changing planning rules to make it easier to build reservoirs.
Where it will bite in practice
- Local pressure on water evidence. The 2026 NPPF now points planning policy at tighter local water standards, and a severe-drought backdrop makes a lower target or a water-neutrality style condition easier for a council to justify. Check conditions on live sites in the declared areas.
- Fittings schedules get read more carefully. Expect Building Control and planning officers to ask for the calculation, not just a statement of compliance, and for as-installed flow rates to match the schedule. Mandatory water labelling is coming, but check what is actually specified today.
- Drainage testing. Our latest soakaway coverage still applies: infiltration tests taken in this drought are a best case, and the design water table should be the highest expected level, not the one you dug into.
What to do now
If you work on schemes in or near the declared areas, check the planning conditions for water-efficiency or water-supply wording, and make sure the calculation behind your fittings schedule is current and traceable. If the target moves to 110 l/p/d or below, you will want to know before the plot is built, not after.
WaterMonkey runs the Part G calculation in your browser and gives you a fittings schedule to check against 125, 110 or a local target.
Sources: Government activates plan to protect consumers as severe drought declared in parts of England (GOV.UK, 15 October 2026) · What is severe drought? (Environment Agency blog, 15 October 2026) · Dry weather and drought in England: 9 to 15 October 2026