Yorkshire Water has announced a hosepipe ban set to take effect from this Friday, following official confirmation of a drought across the region by the Environment Agency.
The ban comes after the driest spring on record, with rainfall at record lows and reservoir levels significantly depleted.
Between April and June, Yorkshire Water reported supplying an additional 4.3 billion litres of water compared to an average year, placing unprecedented pressure on the regionโs water resources. Reservoir levels now stand at just 55.8%, which is 26.1% below the typical average for this time of year.
Dave Kaye, Director of Water at Yorkshire Water, urged customers to take the situation seriously: โWe need to take action now to help conserve water and protect Yorkshireโs 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.โ
โIntroducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and weโve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place. Weโre grateful to our customers, who have been saving water where they can this year already. It is really important that we all continue to do so.โ
Under the new restrictions, the use of hosepipes is banned for the following activities:
- Watering the garden or plants in your garden at homeโฏ
- Cleaning private vehicles or boatsโฏโฏ
- Filling or maintaining a swimming pool, paddling pool, hot tub or cold-water plunge poolโฏat homeโฏโฏ
- Filling or maintaining a domestic pond or ornamental fountainโฏโฏ
- Cleaning your homeโs walls or windows yourselfโฏย
- Cleaning paths, patios or artificial outdoor surfacesโฏโฏย
You can still carry out these activities if youโre using water from a bucket or a watering can. You can also use water that is not sourced from mains water, such as grey water, rainwater from a water butt through a hosepipe, or private boreholes for example.
For more details and exemptions, visit the Yorkshire Water website: yorkshirewater.com
