Southern Water has dropped its application for a drought permit that campaigners say would have harmed fish in the River Test.

The proposal would have allowed it to continue taking water out of the river even if it fell below an agreed minimum level previously set for the protection of the Test’s salmon population.  

The application - which was described as a precautionary measure - was submitted to the Environment Agency on July 19 but was formally withdrawn on November 4 after river levels recovered thanks to some "timely rainfall".

Fish Legal and the Testwood & Nursling fishery near Southampton challenged the drought permit application at a public inquiry in August, arguing that Southern Water had made inadequate efforts to minimise customer demand and to mitigate the potential impact on the river’s fish stocks and ecology, something they are required to do by law.

Southern Water also announced on November 4 that it had removed its temporary hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, stating that the restrictions were “no longer deemed necessary”.

Fish Legal Solicitor, Andrew Kelton, said: “It is good news that Southern Water has confirmed to us that they have withdrawn their application for a drought permit affecting the River Test.

"The public inquiry in the Summer shone a light on things that could and should be done better to protect salmon in the Test in dry weather, from temporary use bans to the efficacy of fish rescues when river flow drops to dangerously low levels and expanding the focus to issues such as pollution from a Southampton industrial estate."

He added: “But we are sceptical about the process for next year when we may well be in the same situation given that Southern Water confirms that the aquifer is still depleted and if we now have another dry winter the situation could be even worse. In our view, they do not do enough to manage demand or reduce leakage.”

Penelope Gane, head of practice at Fish Legal, said: “While, on the face it, Southern Water’s decision to abandon its drought permit application and lift restrictions on water use for its customers looks like good news, with its plans for a new supply reservoir unlikely to come to fruition before the end of the decade the River Test remains vulnerable as our climate changes.”

She added: “The reality is that the health of this precious chalk stream and its salmon population is reliant on Southern Water finding ways to supply its customers that no longer depend primarily on abstracting from natural river flows and aquifers.”

Paul Riordan, Southern Water’s Drought Manager, said: "We have withdrawn our drought permit application, as it is no longer needed due to the improved level of the River Test.

“We prepared this application as a precautionary measure and are pleased that it was not required, thanks to the timely rainfall and the commitment to use less water by the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, who saved around 11 million litres of water over three months by supporting our hosepipe ban. Businesses have also cut their water use by taking part in our 'You save, We pay' initiative.

“Although we have withdrawn our permit application and ended the Temporary use ban in the area, we live in a water-stressed area and the country is officially still in drought. Whilst we continue to work hard to reduce leakage and outage across our estate in preparation for what could be a challenging summer next year, we would like our customers to continue to use water wisely."