Big rise in water use as Yorkshire basks in hot and sunny weather
Yorkshire Water says customers used an extra 60 million litres a day over the weekend
Water usage across Yorkshire surged over the weekend (10-11 May) as the region basked in hot sunny weather.
Some parts of the county saw highs touching 25C, with Yorkshire Water reporting 60 million additional litres of water being used a day across its network - enough to supply the whole of York.
Reservoir levels across the region are lower than expected for this time of year (at around 75%) after three of the driest months in 90 years.
The lack of rain has continued into this month.
Dave Kaye, Director of Water at Yorkshire Water, said:
“Usage across the region has been consistently high over the last month or so, averaging around 60 million extra litres of water a day – enough to serve York and its surrounding villages, and over the weekend, we saw that increase and impact our water supplies even further.
“We are carefully managing water resources across the region by using our grid network to move water around and maintain supply, we’re investing £16m this year to reduce leakage as much as possible, and we're fitting smart meters in customers’ homes to help them manage usage and detect leaks."
"Customers can also help us to conserve water and protect resources into the summer by making small changes at home.”