Yorkshire Water issues update on water resources following Environment Agency’s declaration of drought

Although the declaration of drought in Yorkshire does not immediately impact customers in the region, Yorkshire Water said that customers are reminded to save water where possible because of long-range forecasts suggesting a greater-than-normal chance of a hot summer.

It said it will continue its efforts to reduce leakage, manage water resources and continue to help customers reduce demand.

It added that its reservoir stocks are at 62.3 per cent – significantly below the average 85.5 per cent for this time of year – but that customers' efforts to use water wisely and the recent rainfall has helped to stabilise reservoir levels in Yorkshire in recent weeks, and that reservoir levels fell by 0.51 per cent this week, compared to previous sustained weekly drops of 3 per cent.

According to the Met Office, this year has seen Yorkshire’s warmest spring for mean temperature since records began in 1884.

Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: “We've seen water demand decrease in recent weeks thanks to the welcome rainfall and the efforts of our customers to save water.

“We had one of the driest springs on record, which has impacted our reservoir levels, meaning they are much lower than normal for this time of year.

“Without significant rainfall in the coming months, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility.

“The declaration of drought does not immediately change things for our customers.

“We’ll be continuing to work closely with the Environment Agency and will be working hard to carefully manage our resources and move water around the region to areas that need it most.

“We have 100 additional colleagues tackling leakage in the field and we'd like to thank customers for continuing to report leaks to us so we can repair them as soon as possible.

“It's important customers continue with their own efforts to use water wisely to help protect water resources into the summer months."

Suggesting ways to save water, Yorkshire Water said customers can help by: checking for leaking toilets by looking and listening for trickling water between flushes – they can waste up to 400 litres a day; holding off putting a wash on until you have a full load for the machine and using the eco setting; using mulch and bark in your garden to reduce water evaporation by 75 per cent and keep the moisture in the soil, and keeping on top of weeds that take water from your plants; turning off the tap when you brush your teeth – this can save 10 litres every time.