Hosepipe ban for the region ends today, say Yorkshire Water

The water company introduced restrictions across Yorkshire on July 11 following the driest Spring in 132 years and a record-breaking hot Summer.

Reservoir levels are now 91.6 per cent, and Hull aquifer levels are at 77 per cent. This means that available water resources across reservoirs, rivers, and groundwater sources are above average for this time of year at 85.1 per cent, and restrictions can safely be lifted.  

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Dave Kaye, director of water and wastewater at Yorkshire Water, said: “We are incredibly grateful to our customers for their efforts to save water throughout the dry spring and summer, and into the wetter months.  

“When restrictions were first introduced and the weather was warm, customer usage went down by 10 per cent, taking pressure off our reservoirs. Continuing those water-saving actions when we finally started seeing rainfall, as well as us making use of drought orders and permits, meant that our reservoirs could recover as much as possible – and it’s part of the reason why we’re able to end the restrictions earlier than we initially thought.

“While the restrictions are lifting it is important people continue to think about their water usage and consider using water wisely throughout the year, not just during periods of drought and hot weather.

“Customers are now able to use water as usual, with the end of the restrictions coming into effect immediately.

“Drought permit activity at Yorkshire Water’s reservoirs and the region’s rivers has also ended.”

The company says ending the restrictions follows 14 weeks of sustained increases to reservoir levels, which had dropped to 30.6 perhaps at their lowest point. 

Without the company’s drought management plan, the grid system which moves water around the region and customers’ water saving actions, it is estimated that reservoirs could have dropped to as low as 17.6 per cent. 

While the hosepipe restrictions were in place, Yorkshire Water fixed almost 15,000 leaks – managing to fix them over a third quicker by employing 100 additional leakage detectors. A leak was repaired every 25 minutes between April and December. 

The comapny says hosepipe restrictions have helped save around 3.1 billion litres of water, or the equivalent of 69 days of York’s average usage, 36 days of Hull’s average usage, 33 days of Sheffield’s average usage or 21 days of Leeds’ average usage.

Dave said: “While we are back to normal, we’re continuing our work to manage our water resources carefully both in the weeks and months ahead, and over the long-term so that we can meet growing demand for water in an increasingly challenging climate.

“This means continuing to bring down leakage, with a £38m investment planned over the next five years, and progressing our plans to bring additional sources of water into our network through the installation of new boreholes and storage reservoirs.” 

To view Yorkshire Water’s water resource management plan, go to the Yorkshire Water website. 

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