Over the past five years, one in 12 golf clubs in England has broken water rules.

More than 140 golf clubs in England have breached their water licenses in the last five years, according to a Guardian analysis of data.

More than a third of these clubs were caught illegally taking water from the environment, either by taking more than the permitted amount of water or by removing it beyond the permitted period.

In most other cases, violations were the result of golf clubs either not reporting and monitoring water use properly, or not reporting or monitoring it at all.

Although 100 golf clubs violated their licenses in ways that endangered the environment, none of the violations resulted in prosecution or fines.

Amy Fairman, director of campaign group River Action, called the figures “completely unacceptable”. “This suggests that violating licenses does not have significant consequences. Monitoring and enforcement must be significantly strengthened.”

The Environment Agency (EA) told the Guardian it had increased its capacity to monitor and detect breaches of mining licences. A spokesman said: “Our first reaction is to work with abstractors to bring them back into compliance, however we will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.”

More than 70% of England is now in drought following a summer heatwave that the Met Office has just declared is the UK’s hottest ever. The previous record was set only last year. Nine major reservoirs are classified as having exceptionally low stocks and farmers are warning the drought could lead to food shortages.

The Guardian obtained data covering the period 2021 to 2025 from the EA through an environmental information request (EIR). During this time, the total number of violations more than doubled, likely due largely to the digitization of records and improved monitoring.

Over a five-year period, golf clubs violated their licenses 279 times, representing about 6% of the total violations. Of those, 175 were Category 2 or 3 violations, meaning they posed a threat of “reasonably foreseeable” effects on the environment, human health or quality of life.

While the figures do not apply to the 2026 drought, they do include disruptions that occurred during the 2022 and 2025 droughts.

Fairman said: “As we face increasingly harsh climate conditions, we need to look at who is prioritized in extracting our water, and that should be essential services, not golf clubs. Demand and competition for water will increase, so the Government needs to take this issue seriously and develop a national plan for water sustainability.”

In England, the diversion of water from rivers, lakes and underground boreholes is regulated by a system of abstraction licenses held by public water companies, farmers and many other businesses. The licenses include conditions on where, when and how much water utilities can remove, and how they must monitor and report their use.

Dr Megan Claar, associate professor of hydroecology at the University of Leeds, told the Guardian that mining license violations were “bad news for the environment”.

“If water levels get too low, it can raise temperatures, concentrate sewage and other pollutants and dry out the river. There needs to be enough water so species like fish have enough habitat to survive.”

The Environmental Protection Agency verifies compliance through a combination of inspections and desk assessments, including the use of satellite data. If violations occur, the agency may respond with an advisory, warning letter, fine, or prosecution.

Golf clubs use water to maintain and irrigate their courses and grounds. According to England Golf, there are 1,735 golf clubs in England, meaning around one in 12 have breached their water license in the last five years.

While some clubs source their own water, others have come under fire for using tap water in areas where homeowners have to comply with hose bans.

Guy Shrubsall, an environmental campaigner and author of The Lie of the Earth, has called for the courses to be reinstated. “Golf’s purpose seems to be to ruin a good walk – and now it turns out golf clubs are stealing our water too. As the climate crisis accelerates, the last thing we need is wasteful, water-guzzling, land-hungry extravagance,” he said.

Fairman suggested that clubs conserve more water on their land by creating their own small ponds or wetlands.

England Golf, which represents golf clubs in England, told the Guardian it had provided clubs with advice on how to combat water shortages. Head of Sustainability Kirstin McEvoy said: “Our aim is to work with all clubs that need help to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to ensure sustainable water use… we recognize these are increasingly challenging times.”

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Water abstraction licenses have strict environmental conditions and are reviewed regularly. We expect all extractive companies, including golf clubs, to fully comply with these license conditions to help protect our rivers and groundwater.”