Yorkshire Water’s grim outlook for Fewston Reservoir in 50 years

Yorkshire Water has released a mock up of what Fewston Reservoir could look like in 50 years after the effects of climate change.

Rather than a reservoir filled to the brim with water popular with walkers, the image shows how the Washburn Valley could dry up and resemble a desert.

It comes as Yorkshire Water predicts that it will have 100 million fewer litres in its daily supply by 2045.

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To try and tackle the issue, the water company is currently trialling new technology to find leaks more quickly and reduce the water lost by 50% by 2050.

Yorkshire Water continues to ask customers to do their bit by turning off the tap when brushing teeth, opting for a shower instead of a bath and using a watering can instead of a hose.

Fewston Reservoir pictured from the same place in May 2020.

Martin Christmas, yorkshire environment manager for the Environment Agency, said:

“What we do with water and how much we use directly impacts people and the environment, including many of the places we care most about – our rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

“We need to be careful with our water supply. With the weather we experience in the UK it’s easy to think there’s enough to go round.

“But when you factor in the effects of climate change and population growth, there is a very real risk of water shortages by 2050.

“Every individual can make a difference; changing some of our daily habits can play a critical role in protecting our water resources.”

Suzanne Dunn, water resources strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

“We can already see and feel the impacts of climate change all around us.

“Seeing what our reservoirs and environment could look like in 50 years’ time might be surprising and scary to some people, but the important thing to note is that it’s not too late for us to change that future.

“We’re making headway on our leakage reduction plans, and together with our water-savvy customers, it could really make a difference to the future of water resources.”

Fewston reservoir fly tipper ‘spoils it for everyone’

A fly tipper has dumped several bags of rubbish near Fewston reservoir as more people head out to enjoy the sun and easing of lockdown.

The rubbish was left on Meagill Lane between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. It is unclear who is responsible.

Harrogate Borough Council, which cleans up after fly tippers, is aware and should be sending out a team soon.

Graham Hebblethwaite, chairman of Washburn Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“It is one of the worst fly tips I have seen in the area. We normally get around three or four bags worth, but this is a lot more.

“There are plenty of ways you can get rid of your rubbish, there’s a recycling centre not too far away so why dump it here?

“When people leave so much rubbish it spoils it for everyone. We try our best to keep the area clean, but people should clean up after themselves.”

Washburn Parish Council has organised a litter pick at 10am tomorrow, but will mainly focus on rubbish thrown out of car windows and dropped on walks.

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Swinsty Reservoir dog walker finds ‘nail board trap’ near car

A dog walker claims that someone is deliberately trying to damage cars near to Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs.

Derek Johnson parked his car on the grass verges near the woods to the south of the reservoirs on Sunday.

After returning from a walk with his gun dogs, a jogger warned him that she had found a nail board near her car.

He checked around and found two of the boards in close proximity to his car, so took the picture you can see above.

While he did not report the incident to the police, a nearby farmer said that he had called the police earlier that day.

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There has been a longstanding issue with the number of cars parking at the reservoirs since the first lockdown when many flocked to the area for their daily exercise.

We approached North Yorkshire Police for comment but received no reply by the time of publication.

Mr Johnson told the Stray Ferret:

“My dogs need to have a lot of space to run around so come to the reservoirs quite regularly and haven’t had an issue before.

“After the walk someone told me they found one of these nail boards so I checked around. I found one under my tyre and another a few yards away.

“It’s such a stupid thing to do. If someone has an issue with us using the reservoirs to exercise then they should tell us, not do something like this.”

Graham Hebblethwaite, the chairman of Washburn Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“If someone is doing this to try and trap cars then that is horrendous. At first I thought it could be discarded bits of pallets but it looks like freshly cut pieces.

“This is not the message we want to send out to people who come here. We are asking people to keep an eye out for these nail boards.”