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19
Nov
Storm Claudia tops up reservoirs, but district remains in drought
The district’s reservoirs are four fifths full, yet the region remains officially in drought, Yorkshire Water has revealed.
Rainfall brought by Storm Claudia at the end of last week saw water levels in Nidderdale’s reservoirs – Angram, Scar House and Gouthwaite – rise to 81%, up from 73%.
Water levels in the reservoirs of the adjacent Washburn Valley – Thruscross, Fewston, Swinsty and Lindley Wood – rose even more sharply, to 80% from 60%.
Across Yorkshire, reservoir levels registered a record 15% rise, from 65.3% to 80.5%, which Yorkshire Water said demonstrated that its plan to boost reservoir recovery was well on track.
Dave Kaye, director of water services at Yorkshire Water, said:
The impact of Storm Claudia over the weekend, and our continued drought permit activity, has led to another record-breaking uplift of reservoir levels.
Whilst nine weeks of positive recovery does not entirely make up for the shortfall left by 28 weeks of decline due to the driest spring and summer on record in the region, it represents a very encouraging step in the right direction.
We continue to see varied levels of recovery across the region, and we are working hard to balance those supplies and move water around via our grid network, but in some cases, this is not possible, and those reservoirs need to recover naturally through rainfall.
But he said despite the increased rainfall and resulting improvement in reservoir levels, Yorkshire remains in official drought status, and temporary drought restrictions, also known as the hosepipe ban, remain in place.
Recent Environment Agency reports indicate that lower-than-average rainfall over winter would result in continued drought and risks to water supplies next year.
Mr Kaye added:
When we introduced the restrictions in July, we said we would remove them as soon as resources recovered, and that aim has not changed.
In the meantime, we would like to thank customers in their efforts to stick to the temporary restrictions and those taking steps to conserve water resources.
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