Yorkshire Water has lifted temporary hosepipe restrictions following significant improvements in water resource levels across the region, marking the end of measures introduced during the driest spring in more than a century.
The restrictions, first brought in on 11 July after the driest spring in 132 years and an exceptionally warm summer, have been removed today (10 December). Reservoir stocks have risen to 91.6%, while Hull’s aquifer levels now stand at 77%. Overall, available water resources across reservoirs, rivers and groundwater are above the seasonal average, currently at 85.1%.
The decision follows 14 consecutive weeks of increasing reservoir levels, which had fallen to 30.6% at their lowest point. Yorkshire Water stated that, without its drought management plan, regional grid system and the water-saving efforts of customers, levels could have dropped as low as 17.6%.
Leakage reduction and customer action helped protect supplies
During the hosepipe restrictions, Yorkshire Water repaired almost 15,000 leaks — completing the work more than a third faster thanks to the deployment of 100 additional leakage detectors. Between April and December, an average of one leak was fixed every 25 minutes.
The temporary restrictions are estimated to have saved around 3.1 billion litres of water. At their lowest point, 22 reservoirs fell below 20%, including Scar House, Thruscross, Baitings and Broomhead. Between April and October, 28 drought permits and orders were implemented across 26 reservoirs and two rivers, helping retain an additional 4 billion litres of water.
Daily demand peaked at 1.479 billion litres on 20 June 2025, around 200 million litres above Yorkshire’s typical daily supply.
Recovery supported by customer cooperation
Dave Kaye, Director of Water and Wastewater at Yorkshire Water, thanked customers for their contribution throughout the drought period.
“We are incredibly grateful to our customers for their efforts to save water throughout the dry spring and summer, and into the wetter months,” he said. “When restrictions were first introduced and the weather was warm, customer usage went down by 10%, taking pressure off our reservoirs.”
“Continuing those water-saving actions when we finally started seeing rainfall, as well as us making use of drought orders and permits, meant that our reservoirs could recover as much as possible – and it’s part of the reason why we’re able to end the restrictions earlier than we initially thought. While the restrictions are lifting it is important people continue to think about their water usage and consider using water wisely throughout the year, not just during periods of drought and hot weather.”
Next steps for long-term resilience
With the restrictions lifted, customers can resume normal water use immediately. Yorkshire Water has also ended drought permit activity across its reservoirs and rivers.
Kaye added: “While we are back to normal, we’re continuing our work to manage our water resources carefully both in the weeks and months ahead, and over the long-term so that we can meet growing demand for water in an increasingly challenging climate. This means continuing to bring down leakage, with a £38m investment planned over the next five years, and progressing our plans to bring additional sources of water into our network through the installation of new boreholes and storage reservoirs.”
Yorkshire Water’s full Water Resource Management Plan is available on the company’s website.
