After a very dry period in August, which led to Yorkshire’s reservoir water levels being dangerously low revelling flooded Medieval villages and more the hosepipe ban has been lifted from today.
In an effort to save water, there was a temporary hosepipe ban put in place by Yorkshire Water. It was classified as within drought by the Environment Agency, but thanks to everyone’s efforts to save water and a very wet autumn the restriction has now been lifted.
The Yorkshire Water hosepipe ban helped to save an average of 28 million litres per day taking pressure off the area’s reservoirs and allowing them to recover and hold as much water as possible.
Neil Dewis, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re really grateful to our customers for their efforts to save water whilst the weather was drier than usual.
“Thanks to a number of emergency drought schemes, drought permits, increased leakage activity, rainfall, and everyone’s efforts to save water, reservoirs are now looking much healthier – with the average level across the region now at 75%.”
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To transfer water and balance the stocks, Yorkshire Water used contractors to lay two kilometres of overland pipe across the moorland to connect Walshaw Dean Upper reservoir in Calderdale and Pondon reservoir in the Worth Valley.
The scheme helped the reservoir levels to increase from 20 percent to 80 percent. Yorkshire Water also used leakage technicians helping to fix leaks twice as quickly.
Neil continued: “As we’ve seen this year, climate change is making weather patterns more extreme. “We recently submitted our latest draft water resource management plan to the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
“The document predicts future water use, weather patterns, and sets out our action plan to reduce the likelihood of future restrictions and ensure we can continue to meet demand over the next 60 years.
“We’d welcome feedback from customers and other stakeholders on our draft plan, which can be viewed on our website.
“Whilst the hosepipe ban is no longer in place, it’s really important that we all continue to save water where we can. “Adopting small habits like reusing grey water or installing a water butt will save water and energy, helping to reduce bills and protect the environment.”
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Feature Image Credit: Unsplash
