UK's first 2025 hosepipe ban declared in Yorkshire

Reservoir levels across Yorkshire are at a record low, according to Yorkshire Water

A hosepipe ban affecting more than five million people will come into effect from Friday - the first to be declared in the UK this year.

Yorkshire Water said the region had experienced its driest and warmest spring on record with only 15cm of rainfall between February and June - less than half of what would be expected in an average year.

Yorkshire is the first part of the UK to face restrictions on water usage amid an extended spell of dry weather nationwide.

Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said the restrictions "are intended to make sure we have enough supply for the essential needs of people across the region this year and next as well as making sure we are able to protect our local environment".

The ban applies to customers across much of Yorkshire, parts of North Lincolnshire and parts of Derbyshire.

It prohibits the use of a hosepipe for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool. Anyone flouting the restriction could be fined up to £3,000.

The ban comes after the Environment Agency declared a drought across the region last month.

Nationally, England recorded its warmest June on record after the driest spring for 132 years.

According to Yorkshire Water, reservoir levels currently stand at just over 50% - a record low for the time of the year and "significantly below" the average for early July, which is nearer 80%.

Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, has almost completely dried out

Mr Kaye said water supplies would normally be topped up by rainfall in spring but reservoir stocks had been falling since the last week of January.

Recent downpours had "helped slightly", he added, but he said that "constant high temperatures and more dry weather" had only increased water usage.

"With more dry weather forecast in the coming weeks, it is likely our stocks will continue to fall.

"We need to act now to maintain clean water supplies and long-term river health."

Mr Kaye said the ban would be in place "until the region has seen significant rainfall to bring reservoirs and groundwater stocks back to where they need to be".

He said: "This may last into the winter months."

Dave Kaye, pictured, has warned the ban could last until the winter

Yorkshire Water said it had supplied an additional 4.3 billion litres of water between April and June compared with a typical year due to the sustained hot weather - enough to supply Leeds for five weeks.

The company increased bills by almost 30% in April although customers will now be restricted on how much water they use.

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

The company said it had been "finding and fixing leaks 24/7 which has resulted in leakage being at its lowest ever level in Yorkshire".

Although hosepipe bans in Yorkshire are fairly rare - this is just the third in 30 years - they have become more common, with water use also restricted in 2022.

Questions are likely to be asked about why the region is facing its second hosepipe ban in just three years and whether its water supply is robust enough.

Yorkshire's reservoirs, which were full at the end of January, have lost half of their capacity in just five months.

There is no doubt that rainfall has been exceptionally low since February.

But at a time when the climate is changing – there have been three exceptionally dry springs in the past 14 years - the demand for water has increased sharply.

Yorkshire's population has grown by approximately 500,000 since 2000 but no new reservoirs have been built since Thruscross in the Washburn Valley in 1966.

In the short term, Yorkshire Water will be hoping the measures announced today will be enough to slow the fall in reservoir levels until the rain returns and replenishes supplies.

But, in the longer term, with the combined challenges of climate change and population growth, water restrictions may become much more common.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.