Yorkshire Water has thanked customers for their efforts to save water which saw usage drop by around 10 per cent in the summer
The hosepipe ban that has been in place for households in Yorkshire for the past five months is being lifted today. Restrictions were introduced on July 11 following the “driest spring in 132 years and a record-breaking warm summer“.
Months of low rainfall saw reservoir and Hull aquifer levels drop significantly prompting Yorkshire Water to introduce the restrictions. These have seen households across the region banned from using hosepipes for activities such as watering the garden, cleaning cars and filling paddling pools.
Those ignoring the restrictions could have faced fines of up to £1,000 but, at the time restrictions were introduced, Yorkshire Water said “we hope it won’t come to that”. The rules did not apply to businesses where hosepipe use is “directly related to the use of water for commercial purposes” or to blue badge holders, those on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services Register or WaterSure tariff for medical reasons.
The company says the hosepipe ban helped save around 3.1 billion litres of water, which is equivalent to Hull’s average usage over 36 days. Before the restrictions were introduced, daily demand in the region peaked on June 20 with 1.479 billion litres used – around 200 million litres above the average daily supply for Yorkshire.
With reservoir levels in the region now at 91.6 per cent and Hull aquifer levels at 77 per cent, available water resources across reservoirs, rivers and groundwater sources are now “above average for this time of year” at 85.1 per cent meaning restrictions can “safely be lifted”. It comes after 14 weeks of sustained increases to reservoir levels with plenty of heavy rainfall throughout the autumn.
However, Hull aquifer levels continued to decline into early November despite heavy rain in September and October. At their lowest point they reached 38.2 per cent last month but have rapidly recovered over the past five weeks.
At their lowest point, reservoir levels in Yorkshire overall fell to 30.6 per cent and Yorkshire Water says that, without its 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.
During the months of hosepipe restrictions, the company says it fixed almost 15,000 leaks, adding it did so “over a third quicker by employing 100 additional leakage detectors”. A leak was “repaired every 25 minutes between April and December”.
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.
Mr Kaye added: “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.”