The government said customer water supplies would be uninterrupted.
Declaring a severe drought “ensures proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs”.
The government’s plans include:
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Ministers instructing water companies to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and tougher water quality monitoring
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The Environment Agency to increase compliance checks on businesses that withdraw water from natural sources to ensure they are only taking permitted quantities of water
The government said the change to severe drought status had been prompted by specific concerns for two major reservoirs, Ardingly in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset.
Wimbleball serves about 300,000 properties across east Devon, north Devon, Somerset, west Dorset and West Somerset.
Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “Record-breaking summer heat and severe drought have put our water resources under immense pressure.
“Recovery depends on both rainfall and how much water we use. We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now.
“We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies.
“We are also asking everyone to use less water. That will leave more in our rivers and the environment, helping farmers and protecting wildlife and nature.”
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