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08
Jul
Yorkshire Water announces hosepipe ban
Yorkshire Water has announced a hosepipe ban will come into force on Friday (July 11).
The move, following a protracted dry spell, comes as Yorkshire reservoirs are currently at 55.8% capacity – 26.1% lower than average for this time of year.
Yorkshire Water said the county experienced the driest and warmest spring on record with only 15mm of rainfall across the region between February and June, less than half of what would be expected at this time of year.
The Environment Agency officially declared a drought in Yorkshire last month.
David Kaye, Yorkshire Water’s director of water, said:
We need to take action now to help conserve water and protect Yorkshire's environment. That means from Friday this week, people across Yorkshire will need to stop using their hosepipes to water their gardens, wash their cars or for any other activities.
Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place.
Of course, we have seen a few periods of changeable weather more recently, which helped slightly with the water resources picture. But these have been followed by constant high temperatures and more dry weather, which causes increased water usage.
The company also said it has been "finding and fixing leaks 24/7", which has resulted in leakage being at its lowest ever level in Yorkshire.
What do the restrictions involve?
Yorkshire Water said people cannot:
- Use a hosepipe to water a garden
- Use a hosepipe to clean private vehicles or boats
- Water plants with a hosepipe on a domestic or non-commercial premises
- Fill or maintain a domestic swimming pool, padding pool, hot tub or cold-water plunge pool with a hosepipe
- Use a hosepipe for domestic recreational use
- Fill or maintain a domestic pond or ornamental fountain using a hosepipe
- Clean walls or windows at a domestic property using a hosepipe
- Clean paths or patios with a hosepipe
- Clean other artificial outdoor spaces using a hosepipe
People are allowed to wash their cars or water their gardens by filling a bucket or watering can with tap water, rather than using a hosepipe.
People can also use water that is not sourced from taps, such as rainwater from a water butt, a private borehole or grey water, Yorkshire Water said.
The restrictions do not apply to apply businesses if using a hosepipe is directly related to a commercial purpose.
However, Yorkshire Water added businesses are not allowed to use a hosepipe outside of “essential commercial needs”, such as cleaning a path outside a company property.
Blue badge holders or people who are on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services Register or WaterSure tariff for medical reasons are also excluded from the hosepipe ban.
Restrictions 'could last into winter months'
It is unclear how long the ban could be in place locally, with Mr Kaye warning it could continue into the winter.
He said:
The restrictions will come into effect on 11 July and will be in place until the region has seen significant rainfall to bring reservoirs and groundwater stocks back to where they need to be. This may last into the winter months, but we will lift the usage restrictions as soon as we are able.
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