Yorkshire Water: Hospepipe ban lifted in Doncaster after heavy rainfall

The utility firm, which supplies more than five million homes, announced today that the ban was being lifted after three-and-a-half months in effect. Yorkshire Water said that although the county is still officially in drought, according to the Environment Agency, a wetter than average autumn and efforts by the public to save water meant that the restrictions were no longer needed.

People in Doncaster and across Yorkshire had been banned from using their hosepipes to water their gardens or clean their cars, among other things, with anyone flouting the ban facing a fine of up to £1,000, though it is believed no fines were handed out. The lifting of the hosepipe ban means Doncasterd Council is now free to switch back on the public fountains, which had been turned off due to the ban.

Yorkshire Water had imposed its hosepipe ban on August 26 and it had been feared that it would remain in place until well into 2023. Reservoir levels had fallen dramatically, exposing the remains of the drowned villages of Derwent and Ashopton which usually lie hidden beneath the surface of Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District near Sheffield.

As recently as October, Yorkshire Water had said its reservoir levels remained ‘significantly’ below what it would expect for that time of year, being only around a third full. But it said today, Tuesday, December 6, that reservoirs were now 75 per cent full on average.

Neil Dewis, Yorkshire Water’s director of water, said: “We’re really grateful to our customers for their efforts to save water whilst the weather was drier than usual. Thanks to a number of emergency drought schemes, drought permits, increased leakage activity, rainfall, and everyone’s efforts to save water, reservoirs are now looking much healthier – with the average level across the region now at 75 per cent.”

Yorkshire Water said that hiring extra technicians and introducing a seven-day working pattern had helped it fix leaks ‘twice as quickly’ and it was on track to reduce the amount of water lost through leaks by more than nine per cent this year.

The firm said that although the hosepipe ban had been lifted it was ‘really important that we all continue to save water where we can’.