Recent rain 'not enough' to raise reservoir levels

Yorkshire Water has issued a warning that the recent rainfall in Leeds and the county has not been enough to increase the region's reservoir levels.

- by Dennis Morton

Reservoir stocks in Yorkshire have been declining since late January, roughly for 120 days, owing to one of the driest springs on record, combined with increased customer demand during warmer temperatures.

Despite the much-needed recent rainfall, Yorkshire Water continues to urge customers to conserve water whenever possible. As of Monday, May 26, reservoir stocks had dropped to 62.9 per cent, down from 66.1 per cent the previous week, which is well below the average of 87.8 per cent for this time of year.

Water demand did decrease over the wet bank-holiday weekend, falling from 1.38 billion litres on Friday, May 23, to 1.26 billion litres on Monday, May 26-a reduction of 120 million litres, equivalent to Bradford's daily usage.