What does the declaration of a drought mean for Yorkshire?
Yorkshire Water's drought plan – which follows guidelines set by the Environment Agency – includes the possible introduction of measures such as:Voluntary water usage restrictionsFormal hosepipe and sprinkler bansReducing leakage from Yorkshire Water systemsOptimising the company's supply network by balancing reservoir stocks and recommissioning unused water sourcesAccording to Yorkshire Water's plan, it could restrict water use for vehicle washing, watering parks and gardens and washing buildings.However, customers would be asked to volunteer to reduce their usage before a hosepipe ban was put in place, according to the firm.If the voluntary restrictions did not work and the drought worsened or continued, formal restrictions on water use could be brought into force.Water firms are also expected to release more regular information on stocks during an official drought.
Yorkshire Water last implemented its drought plan in summer 2022, with a hosepipe ban that lasted from August until December that year.During the 2022 drought, the company recommended customers take measures such as singing a four-minute song while showering to reduce usage, only cleaning car mirrors, windows and lights, and leaving lawns to go brown.In May, Dave Kaye, the firm's director of water, said a hosepipe ban was a possibility this year.He warned that water stocks in Yorkshire were "in a worse situation" than in 2022, when there were three heatwaves over the course of the summer.According to the company, a drought order would be lifted when the region's water resources returned to levels where normal operations could resume.But it has said that could take some time and measures might last well beyond any return to normal rainfall patterns.
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