Yorkshire’s water use up by 60 million litres a day

Yorkshire Water is supporting Water Wise’s Water Saving Week (12 – 18 May) by reminding customers to save water where they can following a significant increase in consumption over the warm weekend. 

Customers in Yorkshire used 60 million additional litres of water a day over the weekend - that’s enough to supply the equivalent of the whole of York and surrounding villages.

The increase in usage comes as reservoir levels are lower (73.1%) than the average for this time of year (89.5%), following Yorkshire’s driest combined February, March, and April for 90 years, with a lack of rainfall continuing into May.

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.”

Water can be saved at home by:

• Checking if you have a leaky loo by looking and listening for trickling water between flushes – they can waste up to 400 litres a day
• Hold off doing your washing until you have a full load for the machine and using the eco setting if you have one
• Use mulch and bark in your garden to reduce water evaporation by 75% and keep the moisture in the soil, and keep on top of weeds that take water from your plants
• If you’re waiting for the shower to warm up, collect the cold water and use it to water plants
• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth – this can save 10 litres every time

Nicci Russell, CEO of Waterwise, said: “This Water Saving Week is about people power, and we’re calling on everyone to step up as water-saving heroes by taking simple, effective actions to ease the pressure on our water supplies. Whether it's taking shorter showers, checking for leaks, installing a water butt in the garden, or letting your lawn go golden - these small actions really add up. Even skipping the pre-rinse and waiting for a full load before running the dishwasher can make a difference. Avoid heavy sprinkler use in the coming months too - they can use as much water in an hour as a whole family does in a day!

“Whether you're a laundry legend, shower saviour or leak buster, we can all be heroes at home by using water wisely. It’s good for the environment and can help bring down your water bills too. If we all did just one thing, the impact would be huge.

Make your water-saving pledge at waterwise.org.uk, and inspire others to do the same. Together, we can show just how powerful small changes can be when we unite behind one simple idea: using water wisely.”