Hosepipe ban: Yorkshire Water granted special powers by Environment Agency
Yorkshire Water has been granted permission to extract water from two rivers to tackle the ongoing shortages amid the hosepipe ban.
The Environment Agency approved two drought permits - for the River Wharfe and River Ouse - to protect drinking water supplies.
The orders will apply for six months, and allow for an additional 60,000 cubic metres of water per day to be extracted from the Ouse and for the Wharfe to top up the Grimwith reservoir.
It comes after reservoir stocks dropped to 42 per cent, well below the normal average of 75 per cent for this time of year.
The company brought in a hosepipe ban on 11 July, after the driest and hottest spring on record.
The EA declared a drought in Yorkshire in June, which has since been described as a “nationally significant incident”.
Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: “The approval of this drought permit is the next step in our Drought Plan, as we continue to carefully manage water supplies for the region.
“We have been communicating with our customers for some time about the need to save water and have seen a fantastic response to the hosepipe restrictions, with a reduction in domestic water use of 10 per cent.
“This has helped keep more water in the reservoirs, but we’re taking action through the drought order to further protect reservoirs in the short-term and enable them to refill quicker in the autumn and winter months when rain is predicted.
“We understand concerns for the environment and these factors have been considered throughout the Drought Plan process, as well as during the application for this permit.”
However, Professor Becky Malby, chair of the Ilkley Clean River Group, said Yorkshire Water’s drought permits showed “an abject failure of planning”.
“Beyond resorting to legal restrictions on water usage through a hosepipe ban Yorkshire Water has done nothing to prepare for this water shortage, taking no responsibility to support the public to conserve water, and has made no plans to store and conserve water across its network,” she said.
As well as reservoirs, river flows have also been very low due to the dry weather.
The River Wharfe is “below normal”, according to the EA, and the drought permit allows Yorkshire Water to withdraw around 120m litres a day.
The River Swale and Derwent are both classed as “exceptionally low”, according to the agency.