‘Two futures for Yorkshire’s reservoirs’ revealed in Water Saving Week pop‑up at Trinity Leeds

Yorkshire Water brought a striking public art exhibition to the heart of Leeds on Saturday 9 May to round off Waterwise’s Water Saving Week (4-8 May), inviting visitors to reflect on the future of some of Yorkshire’s viral reservoirs. 

Hosted at Trinity Leeds, the free exhibition showcased large scale photography of five iconic Yorkshire reservoirs – Langsett, Swinsty, Fewston, Cod Beck and Grimwith – captured by Yorkshire landscape photographer Wendy McDonnell. The reservoirs were selected through analysis on social media tags and mentions, to identify the most ‘viral’, photographed and shared waterways, highlighting their place in Yorkshire locals’ hearts.

Each location was displayed from two perspectives: one showing the reservoir as we know and love it today, and the other presenting a digitally altered interpretation that imagines how these landscapes could change in the future without careful stewardship from water authorities and customers.

Large numbers of shoppers and passers by stopped to explore the artwork, speak to the Yorkshire Water team and learn more about the work Yorkshire Water is doing to protect and manage water resources, including:

• Bringing new raw water supplies into the network with boreholes at East Ness, Brayton Barff, and Norton
• Rolling out over 1.4m smart meters to help detect leaks on private properties – with over 200,000 already installed leading to over 7,900 leaks on private properties being fixed, saving approximately nine million litres of water per day.
• Replacing over 1,000km of priority water mains to reduce the likelihood of bursts and leaks
• Investing £38m in reducing leaks by advancing detection technology, optimising our network, and finding and fixing leaks quicker

By walking through the exhibition, visitors were also encouraged to consider how everyday actions - such as saving water at home - play a role in protecting Yorkshire’s landscapes for generations to come.

Andy Shaw, head of water production from Yorkshire Water said: “Yorkshire’s reservoirs are more than part of our water system – they’re places people walk, photograph, explore and feel proud of. This exhibition was designed to celebrate those connections, while also showing why saving water now is so important for protecting these landscapes in the future, particularly fitting on the back of Water Saving Week.”

Photographer Wendy McDonnell added: “These reservoirs are places many people feel deeply connected to. Showing them as they are today alongside an extreme version of the future helps start important conversations about why we all need to look after water and the environment that depends on it.”

Yorkshire Water is encouraging customers to continue making small changes that collectively make a big difference, such as:

• choosing a shorter four minute shower
• only running washing machines and dishwashers when full
• reusing water, for example from washing up bowls, on plants

Andy continued: “Thankfully, typical Yorkshire showers have been more reliable this year, and our reservoirs and aquifers are in a healthy position as we head towards the end of spring and into summer. Reservoirs are currently at 88.1% - significantly higher than this time last year (69.8%), when we were in the middle of the driest spring for 90 years.”

Levels in the Hull aquifer, which is a key supply of groundwater in the East of the region, are 58% - well above the 50% in mid May 2025.

Andy added: “However, full reservoirs do not remove the need to use water wisely. Saving water during the winter and spring helps to maximise storage ahead of the summer when demand is typically higher and rainfall less likely. We’re incredibly grateful to customers that keep this is mind year-round.”
This follows a rain-activated visual reminder to save water even through April showers, a few weeks prior at Scammonden reservoir.

Following its successful launch in Leeds, Yorkshire Water has confirmed that the exhibition will travel to locations across Yorkshire this summer, giving more people the opportunity to see the artwork, find out about Yorkshire Water’s infrastructure upgrades and engage with the water saving message, with more details on this due to be released over the coming weeks.