Drought permits issued to Yorkshire Water by Environment Agency to protect River Wharfe
The Environment Agency has issued a drought permit to Yorkshire Water in a bid to help conserve supplies.
A further six drought permits have been issued to cover the northern group of reservoirs on the tributaries of River Wharfe, River Ure and River Nidd and will last for six months.
Yorkshire Water’s current licences require them to release a certain amount of water from the reservoirs to maintain the health of the rivers.
With these permits in place, the company can reduce the amount of water released, retaining more water in their reservoirs.
The Environment Agency has already granted Yorkshire Water 37 permits for reservoirs in other parts of Yorkshire.
The new permits cover:
- Beaver Dyke Reservoir
- Scargill Reservoir
- Leighton Reservoir
- Lumley Moor Reservoir
- Lindley Wood Reservoir
- Thruscross Reservoir
Claire Barrow, Environment Agency Yorkshire drought manager, said: “Although we expect to see more wet weather over the autumn and winter it will take significant rain over several months to refill rivers and reservoirs, without which water supplies will continue to decline.
“These additional permits will allow Yorkshire Water to retain their reservoir stocks for longer, so protecting that level of public supply.
“We only issue a permit if we are content that there are clear plans in place to mitigate any impact on the environment, along with strong evidence from Yorkshire Water of their ongoing commitment to reduce leaks and improve water efficiency.
“Over the autumn and winter, we will continue to work closely with Yorkshire Water as it develops the long-term solutions necessary to protect water resources while drought conditions continue across Yorkshire.”
Yorkshire officially moved to drought status in June following six months of below average rainfall combined with high temperatures, which affected most of the country.