Hosepipe ban comes into force amid hot and dry conditions

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The temporary hosepipe ban starts on August 26, and anyone breaking it faces a fine of up to £1,000. The water firm said reservoir levels had plunged below 50 percent for the first time since the drought of 1995, warning it could take several months of rain or them to recover. Neil Dewis, head of water at the company, said: “We’ve been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but unfortunately they’re now necessary as part of our drought planning.”

He said the decision to introduce the hosepipe ban is “based on the risk that water stocks continue to fall in the coming weeks”.

Mr Dewis added: “We need to make sure that we have enough supply for the essential needs of people across the region this year and next, as well as making sure we’re able to protect our local environment by limiting the amount of water we have to draw from the rivers.”

Yorkshire Water supplies services to five million customers across West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire.

The firm said similar restrictions introduced had seen water remand reduce by up to 10 percent.

Yorkshire Water maintained introducing a hosepipe ban means it can apply for drought permits and drought orders which would allow it to manage water resources.

Mr Dewis continued: “It means we can abstract more water from our rivers and reduce flows out of our reservoirs so that we can continue to provide the water our customers rely on us for.”

The hosepipe ban comes after the Met Office issued an amber extreme heat warning for much of England until Sunday, with temperatures expected to soar towards 35C.

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