Water resources
We would like to reassure customers that we have no plans at the moment to introduce water restrictions at this time. However it has been a very dry year, reservoirs across the region are healthy but we'd still ask customers to use water wisely.
In Yorkshire, we don't just rely on reservoir stocks, we take water from a number of sources including groundwater and rivers - unlike some other parts of the UK. We also balance resources carefully using a unique grid system which enables us to move water around to where it's needed in the region.
We also monitor demand levels across the region from our control centre in Bradford, so we are able to see where and when water is being used - this allows us to plan and predict how much water we need to make and supply everyday allowing us to balance and control water stocks.
The Water Supply Grid
We're working hard and monitoring and managing the network every day to balance water resources across the region. We're doing this using our Water Supply Grid which is a network of underground pipes that allows us to move water to where it's needed. This gives us flexibility and helps us protect areas experiencing low rainfall. The Grid is very resilient and means that an area isn't reliant on one particular supply if there's an unexpected problem, however it is only effective if the network has the water resources to move around.
What you can do to help
We want you to use water wisely and by doing some simple things like turning the tap off whilst brushing your teeth and using a watering can instead of a hosepipe you can save water. For lots of useful hints on how you can save water and money, why not check out the
water saving tips and freebies section of our website?
Our aim is to balance future supply and demand, taking into account the potential effects of climate change. We consider options such as reducing leakage and new resources so we can be confident there's enough supply to meet demand.
Which water supply we use is all dependent on location, location, location - the hills of West Yorkshire make an ideal home for reservoirs, whereas in the north we tap into the river network and the flatter east is more at home using groundwater.
