Five million people in Yorkshire have been hit with a hosepipe ban which will come into effect on Friday. The UK is braced for scorching temperatures from Thursday which could see highs of 32C in some parts of the country, following on from a June which was the hottest on record.
Yorkshire Water said that The sustained hot weather has driven higher demand for water across the region, forcing them to supply an additional 4.3 billion litres of water between April and June compared with a typical year. The high temperatures and low rainfall has caused Yorkshire to become the first area in the UK to enforce restrictions on water usage. Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Dave Kaye, said: “We need to take action now to help conserve water and protect Yorkshire’s environment. That means from Friday this week, people across Yorkshire will need to stop using their hosepipes to water their gardens, wash their cars or for any other activities.
“Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place.”
The ban will limit the use of water in Yorkshire parts of North Lincolnshire and parts of Derbyshire.
The measure, which is enforceable with fines of up to £1,000, prevents people from doing things such as washing their car or filling up paddling pools.
People can still wash their car and water their gardens without using a hosepipe if they use tap water from a bucket or watering can or use water that is not sourced from taps such as grey water, rainwater from a water butt, or a private borehole.
The company said that the restrictions will last “until the region has seen significant rainfall to bring reservoirs and groundwater stocks back to where they need to be.”
They warned that depending on the weather, the ban could be in place until the winter months as they promised to lift restrictions as soon as they are able to.
Hosepipe bans are rare, with just three being issued in Yorkshire in the last 30 years.
However, they have become more common in recent years as the country continues to experience warmer temperatures as a result of climate change.
The last ban was issued in 2022 amid a similar period of dry, hot weather.