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02
Jul
'Significant' drop in local reservoir levels fuels fears of hosepipe ban
Yorkshire Water has warned that a hosepipe ban remains a possibility after reservoir levels dropped significantly this past week.
In June, Yorkshire became the second region to enter drought status following the driest spring in 132 years.
In a statement this morning, Yorkshire Water revealed that reservoir levels fell by 2.5% over the last week to 55.8%, significantly below the average (81.9%) for this time of year.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the company was looking at imposing a hosepipe ban in the next two weeks. However, Yorkshire Water did not respond directly to the Stray Ferret’s questions on the matter.
The company said during warm weather, water usage typically increases, which further impacts reservoir levels. Usage almost reached 1.5 billion litres on Monday June 30, which is 200 million litres above Yorkshire Water’s typical daily production.
David Kaye, director of Yorkshire Water, said without “significant rainfall” it remained a possibility that a hosepipe ban may be imposed in the region.
He said:
Our reservoir levels have been much lower than average for some time now, after the driest spring for 132 years in Yorkshire. The heat and dry weather over the last week have further impacted our reservoir levels. There is some light and localised rain around today and forecast for the rest of the week, but without significant rainfall soon, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility.
We know that warm weather can lead to an increase in water usage, but we are urging customers to continue using water wisely. We’re incredibly grateful to those customers who have been making efforts to save water over the last few months.
We’re working closely with the Environment Agency, and are working hard to manage our resources, moving water around the region to areas that need it the most. We have 100 additional colleagues tackling leakage and ask that customers continue to report leaks to us so that we can repair them as soon as possible.
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