Hosepipe ban possible as dry spell continues

Yorkshire Water has said that continuing warm weather has caused reservoir levels to drop further following a dry spring.

The company said England's warmest June on record meant that its water stocks were declining.

Levels fell by 2.5% over the last week, it said, to 55% - which is significantly below the average for this time of year, when they are usually at 81% capacity.

A Yorkshire drought was formally announced by the Environment Agency on 12 June.

Reservoir levels have declined in Yorkshire since late January because of the driest spring for 132 years, followed by England's warmest June on record.

Dave Kaye, of Yorkshire Water, said last week saw a heatwave across the country and amber heat health alerts in Yorkshire, with restrictions - such as hosepipe bans - an option.

"The heat and dry weather over the last week have further impacted our reservoir levels," Mr Kaye said.

"There is some light and localised rain around on Wednesday, forecast for the rest of the week, but without significant rainfall soon, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility," he added.

Yorkshire Water said typically water use increases in warm weather which affects reservoir levels further.

"Usage almost reached 1.5bn litres on Monday, which is 200m litres above Yorkshire Water's typical daily production," it said.

"We know warm weather can lead to an increase in water usage, but we are urging customers to continue using water wisely."

He said the company was "incredibly grateful" to customers trying to save water for the last few months, using water butts, bricks in cisterns and saving 'grey' water from washing up and by putting buckets in showers to water plants.

He said the company was working closely with the Environment Agency and managing resources, moving water to areas that need it most.

"We have 100 additional colleagues tackling leaks and ask that customers continue to report leaks to us so that we can repair them as soon as possible," he said.

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