Leeds hosepipe ban set to be lifted ‘within weeks’ as Yorkshire reservoirs surge after heavy rain

Yorkshire Water has said it is taking steps to remove its drought permits, which have been in place since July, following a tenth week of increases to its reservoir levels.

The removal of drought permits will enable the company to lift its hosepipe restrictions earlier than initially thought, a spokesperson said.

Following continuous heavy rainfall over the past week, reservoir levels have risen to 84.6 per cent, up from 80.5 per cent last week. This follows a record-breaking increase of 15 per cent as a result of Storm Claudia’s rainfall.

Dave Kaye, Director of Water and Wastewater Services at Yorkshire Water, said that while restrictions remain in place for the time being, the company is working to remove them in the coming weeks.

He said: “We’re now confident that we’re moving into a healthy position across our reservoirs, rivers, and groundwater sources, after seeing further rainfall over the last seven days, and another significant jump in our reservoir levels.

“Restrictions are still in place for the time being, but we are working to lift them as soon as possible, hopefully within the next few weeks. This is earlier than we had originally thought possible, and it’s thanks to the water-saving actions of people in Yorkshire that we’re able to pull it forward.

“We’re now working with the Environment Agency to reduce the measures we’d put in place to manage our water resources differently during the drought - a step we have to take before restrictions can be lifted. This can take a number of weeks, but we will not keep the restrictions in place any longer than is necessary.

“In the meantime, we will continue to monitor our resources and manage them carefully.

“Once again, we’d like to thank all of our customers for continuing to do what they can to save water throughout the restrictions.”