It comes as the River Wye faces mounting pressure as a drought is officially declared for the West Midlands, with environmental groups calling for urgent action. The Environment Agency has said it is out inspecting abstraction licences to ensure no one is over abstracting. The Environment Agency is working with farmers and rural businesses to respond to the crisis, with local farmers telling the Hereford Times how crops are suffering in hot and dry weather. Campaigners say this creates a data gap that makes it harder to manage water resources during dry periods. Farmers are being supported through the Herefordshire Water Abstraction Group, launched earlier this year through Herefordshire Rural Hub.