The West Midlands is among the English regions on the brink of drought, according to the National Drought Group, external.
It is one of the areas of the country which is now in “prolonged dry weather” – the stage before drought.
Only 13% of rivers across the country are classed at normal levels for this time of year, with the River Wye one of several currently seeing exceptionally low levels.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it was taking action to protect water supplies and wildlife in the region, as dry weather continues to assert pressure on river levels.
About 200 million litres of water a day are currently being released into the River Severn by the Shropshire Groundwater Scheme, according to the EA, in order to top up the river when levels are falling too low.
This is the equivalent of approximately 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The scheme uses groundwater stored naturally within the sandstone aquifer beneath north Shropshire and transfers it through a 53km network of underground pipelines.
At full capacity, the scheme can release up to 240 million litres of water a day, equivalent to about 96 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The EA said the Severn was “one of the UK’s most important rivers, supplying drinking water to around six million people while supporting internationally important wildlife and habitats”.
These measures helped to maintain the river flows at Bewdley in Worcestershire, the EA added, claiming the aim was to keep flows above a minimum target of 850 million litres per day, measured as a five-day average.