Lundy Island, a popular tourist destination off the north Devon coast known for its puffins and wildlife, is facing severe water shortages due to an extremely dry summer. The island's reservoir levels dropped to just 13%, prompting emergency water shipments from the mainland. Residents have implemented strict water restrictions and even resorted to pumping water from ponds used by wildlife as a last-ditch effort to avoid closing the island permanently. Managing director Derek Green warns that without significant rainfall, Lundy might need to evacuate residents and cancel all future visits, marking an unprecedented crisis for the National Trust-owned site.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Famed for its puffins, the picture-perfect island of Lundy attracts birdwatchers from all over.
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island → fame → birdwatchers
But the island is on the cusp of being evacuated as water levels drop to the lowest levels ever, forcing residents to take drastic measures to ensure supplies do not run out.
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supplies → evacuate → measures
Located in the Bristol Channel off the north Devon coast, the 5km (3.1 mile) long island is not the first place you expect to be running out of water.
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you → locate → water
It is rich with wildlife including puffins and seals and its rugged landscape makes for breathtaking views.
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landscape → include → views
But speak to the handful of residents here and they will tell you of the battle waged since summer to ensure the taps do not run dry.
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taps → speak → summer
Entirely self-sufficient, the National Trust-owned island relies on a combination of rainwater and boreholes drilled into the granite for supplies.
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island → own → supplies
Severe water shortages in Lundy are not new, with islanders and visitors previously resorting to bottled water.
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islanders → resort → water
But the hottest and driest summer on record has been a "steep learning curve" for islanders, said Lundy managing director Derek Green.
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Green → say → islanders
He said there had been no significant rainfall since April and it had barely seen 20% of the typical 1.5m (4.92ft) rain it expected by this time of year.
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it → say → year
Reservoir levels dropped to 13% at their lowest, forcing emergency shipments of water from the mainland to the 28 people who live on the island.
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who → drop → island
Among the more extreme measures is the removal of plugs so tourists are not tempted to take a bath.
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tourists → tempt → bath
The island, which is managed by the Landmark Trust, is now pumping water from ponds used by wildlife to a treatment works as a "last resort".
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which → manage → resort
"Bringing in pond water is something we've never had to do before," Green explained.
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Green → bring → water
"If we didn't do this, we would be facing the reality of closing Lundy... it would be devastating for us.
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it → do → us
"
Green stressed pond levels had started to drop and a seasonal passenger ferry that has been shipping water to the island is due to end later this month.
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that → stress → island
"Hopefully the reserve in the pond will last until it rains but because it hasn't rained in so long, this is desperate measures," he said.
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he → last → pond
"We've got a working farm here and the animals need water every day... so to evacuate those animals, those people and to cancel all those holidays is something that has never happened in the history of Lundy before.
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that → get → Lundy
we're on the cusp of having to make that decision."
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we → have → decision
The use of pond water led to some recovery in reservoir levels, now at 23.7% full, but Green said islanders were simply "praying for rain".
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islanders → lead → rain
BBC meteorologist David Braine said there was some rain in the forecast for Lundy, but it would take weeks to top up the groundwater and reservoirs the island relied on.
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island → say → groundwater
The very dry spring and summer followed record rainfall in the later part of the winter and it was only in March when most of reservoirs in the south-west of England were full.
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most → follow → England
Shipments of water on passenger ferry the MS Oldenberg from north Devon began in August.
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Shipments → begin → August
The first delivery to the island of about 67,000 litres had been the biggest and cost about £7,000, said Green.
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Green → cost → 7,000
Since then, they have shipped 4,000 litres of water three times a week, with islanders using between 9,000 litres to 11,000 litres of water a day.
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islanders → ship → water
Getting the water from the port to residents has not been an easy process as the island only has a granite track and a handful of vehicles including three 4x4s, tractors, quadbikes and a fire engine.
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island → get → 4x4s
Adding to the logistical pressure, a landslip in June closed off part of the track to the tiny village at the top of the island about 400ft above sea level.
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landslip → add → level
Green said: "We have to offload the tanks off the ship and we have to bring them up to a staging post halfway up the hill.
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we → say → hill
"We then have to pump water with a fire hose past the vulnerable part of the road to another tank where it's then staged pumped to the reservoir at the top."
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it → have → top
Island manager Matt Scantlebury said the shortages had been a "logistical nightmare".
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shortages → say → ?
He said the island's pub, The Tavern, had closed toilets and removed bath plugs to help conserve supplies.
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pub → say → supplies
"We can't have baths... all the plugs have been removed to resist temptation," said Scantlebury.
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Scantlebury → have → temptation
"People are showering with buckets to catch the water and then using that to flush the toilets and that's saving water.
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that → shower → water
We've had to close the pub toilets so the visitors have all been funnelled to the back shed toilets because they aren't on our mains water supply...
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they → have → supply
we now have to fill them from our pond water."
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we → have → water
Green, who started working on Lundy in 2004, said water shortages had become more frequent and they also considered shutting the island in September 2025 when reservoir levels hit 33%.
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levels → start → %
He said the changing climate was more "pronounced on Lundy" and islanders needed to adapt.
"
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islanders → say → Lundy
Forecasters are predicting it will be even warmer next year," he said.
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he → predict → ?
"We've got to learn from this and be better prepared next year in terms of increasing the reservoir here.
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We → get → reservoir
"People need to learn to use a little less water over the winter...
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People → need → winter
Scantlebury said he was concerned for the future and it would hard to keep levels at a "reasonable level" without meaningful rain over autumn and winter.
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it → say → autumn
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
