West Midlands people are not in danger of being hit by a drought this summer but should still be careful about wasting water, the Environment Agency said yesterday.
The announcement came after householders in the South-East were warned to save water after the first drought order in ten years was put in place and amid concerns the Midlands might suffer water shortages as well.
Reports said there was a "real risk" of standpipes being introduced in parts of the country later this year and water companies, businesses and the public should act now to save more water.
Hosepipe and sprinkler bans have already been in place in certain areas of the country since last summer.
But in spite of the stark warning, the Environment Agency and water company Severn Trent said water shortages would not be a problem in the West Midlands, and reservoir levels were currently at 96 per cent of capacity.
An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: "There are no problems at this time for the West Midlands.
"The situation at the moment for the South-East is that there will be a period of very low rainfall.
"But in the West Midlands, reservoir levels are healthy. The problem is affecting the South and South-East of England more.
"We are appealing to people to use water wisely and conserve as much as they can.
"We need some months of near or almost average rain-fall to return ground water levels to normal.
"A few days of rain makes very little difference to long term resources so, in fact, we need months of wet weather."
A Severn Trent spokeswoman also said the West Midlands would be safe as long as consumers were careful to avoid wasting water. ..SUPL:
