Hosepipe ban lifted after summer heat and driest spring in 132 years

Temporary hosepipe restrictions across Yorkshire, introduced in July following the driest spring in 132 years and a record-breaking warm summer, have been lifted.

- by Andrew Hutchinson

Reservoir levels are now 91.6 per cent, and Hull aquifer levels are at 77 per cent. This means that available water resources across reservoirs, rivers and groundwater sources are above average for this time of year (85.1 per cent), and restrictions can be lifted safely.

Ending the restrictions follows 14 weeks of sustained increases to reservoir levels, which had dropped to 30.6 per cent at their lowest point.

Without the company's drought-management plan, the grid system which moves water around the region, and customers' water-saving actions, it is estimated that reservoirs could have dropped to as low as 17.6 per cent.