As Cheshire sees a rapid decline in reservoir levels - this is how much damage the heatwave has caused

The full extent of the damage done to Cheshire's natural environment during the heatwave has been revealed.

The Environment Agency has witnessed a rapid decline in reservoir levels across the North West, causing significant impacts on the local environment.

Since the start of June, the public body has received 114 environmental incident reports as a result of the dry weather across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

This includes 14 reports of fires, 13 reports of fish in distress, 22 fish kills, 8 suspected cases of blue-green algae and 10 reports of water pollution.

Other reports relate to abstraction, burning of waste, coastal algae, dry boreholes, dust, low flows, low water levels and dry watercourses, noise and odour.

Officers in Cheshire have been addressing low water levels in fisheries by making pre-emptive contact with fisheries managers with advice on aeration facilities.

Fish holding facilities have been prepared in Winsford Depot should any fish rescues be required, while several fisheries have reported fish in distress due to low water levels.

Meanwhile, agency officers have been working with farmers across the area to assess how the dry weather is affecting the growth of crops and are helping with water management whilst inspecting water abstractions used for spray irrigation.

Vicky Rockingham from the Environment Agency said: "The Environment Agency has stepped up its incident response to tackle the impacts of continued dry weather, following the driest June since 1925.

"In the North West we have seen a sharp increase in reports of environmental incidents with 25% of July’s estimated reports received in just the first three days.

“The outlook for the next few weeks is much of the same hot dry weather, therefore it is important that if people notice any environmental impacts then they report them to the Environment Agency’s Incident Line on 0800 80 70 60.

"This is open 24/7, so we can take prompt action to investigate and take appropriate action.

She added: “As the prolonged dry weather continues, our teams are busy working on the ground responding to incidents across the region, monitoring environmental impacts and actively working alongside businesses and farmers to ensure that we make the best use of the water available.

“The Environment Agency continues to work with United Utilities to ensure that at all times, we make the best use of the water available and minimise any potential impacts to people, the economy as well as the environment, as the dry weather continues.”