Hosepipe ban could be extended to businesses

Andy Shaw, head of water production at Yorkshire Water, says a hosepipe ban for businesses cannot be ruled out

Yorkshire Water has warned it is not ruling out extending its hosepipe ban to businesses as drought conditions continue.

Five million of the firm's customers have faced hose restrictions since 11 July, amid a prolonged spell of warm and dry weather in the UK.

Retailers and businesses such as car washes are currently exempt from the ban, but Yorkshire Water said further restrictions were a possibility with little let-up in the warm weather.

Andy Shaw, Yorkshire Water's head of water production, said: "We are working incredibly hard to avoid the need for that."

The company said reservoir levels had not increased since January.

A spokesperson said: "Normally our groundwater sources and reservoirs get topped up over spring when the weather is changeable but this year we've had the driest spring on record and Yorkshire is officially in drought."

Currently, businesses are allowed to use a hosepipe if it is "directly related to the use of water for commercial purposes".

Discussing further restrictions, Mr Shaw said: "It's something we will follow closely in terms of how the weather conditions change [and] what the reservoir levels are like.

"It's still an option."

Mr Shaw said the company had applied to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for drought permits, allowing it to temporarily draw more water from rivers, which would ease pressure on reservoirs.

He added: "We're obviously maintaining our levels of leakage reduction, and we've got the hosepipe restrictions which are currently in place.

"Those are three significant measures that we need to make sure we manage as closely as possible to ensure that further restrictions don't come into play in the future."

Restrictions on water use for many come after the company increased bills by almost 30% in April.

In October, the Environment Agency reported that 21% of Yorkshire Water's supplies were lost due to leakage, higher than the national average of 19%.

"We get the fact it's a frustrating time for customers," said Mr Shaw.

"The increases are going towards a huge, huge investment programme we have got planned over the next five years."

He said the programme included £8.3m of investment in "infrastructure and services to improve things like leakage and water quality".

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