Yorkshire Water to introduce hosepipe ban from Friday

A hosepipe ban has been announced for millions of Brits in a bid to protect water supplies ahead of a hot summer.

Yorkshire Water has announced that hosepipe restrictions will be brought in from Friday after the region experienced the driest and warmest spring on record.

Just six inches of rainfall was recorded between February and June this year – less than half of what the region expects annually.

There has also been a higher water demand, leaving the region’s reservoirs just over half full, which is far lower than they would normally be at this time of year.

Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Dave Kaye, said: ‘We need to take action now to help conserve water and protect Yorkshire’s environment.

‘That means from Friday this week, people across Yorkshire will need to stop using their hosepipes to water their gardens, wash their cars or for any other activities. Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place.’

Kaye explained that spring is normally the time when groundwater sources and reservoirs are topped up by rainfall, but this year’s unusually dry weather has seen water levels fall since January.

He added: ‘Of course, we have seen a few periods of changeable weather more recently, which helped slightly with the water resources picture.

‘But these have been followed by constant high temperatures and more dry weather, which causes increased water usage.’

The temporary restrictions coming into force from Friday include using a hosepipe to water gardens and wash private vehicles, fill domestic pools or clean outdoor surfaces.

People can still wash their car and water their gardens using tap water from a bucket or watering can, while businesses will be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to a commercial purpose.

Kaye said: ‘With more dry weather forecast in the coming weeks, it is likely our stocks will continue to fall, so we need to act now to maintain clean water supplies and long-term river health.’

The restrictions will be in place until Yorkshire sees enough rainfall to bring water stocks back to where they need to be, which Kaye said could last until winter.

Last month, the Environment Agency declared Yorkshire had officially moved to ‘drought’ status, following a prolonged period of low rainfall.

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