Drought declared in Yorkshire after dry weather

Drought has been declared across Yorkshire following months of unusually dry weather.

The Environment Agency (EA) said low water levels in reservoirs and rivers had triggered the move despite recent rainfall across parts of the region.

Yorkshire officially entered drought status on Friday after a lack of spring and summer rainfall, having previously been classified as in a period of prolonged dry weather.

Yorkshire Water said it was not planning to introduce water restrictions for customers at this stage despite the drought declaration.

Andy Shaw, head of water production, treatment and energy at Yorkshire Water, said the EA's decision reflected dry conditions across the region but "does not mean water restrictions are currently needed".

EA manager Vicki Townend said Yorkshire had seen its fifth driest period on record between April and September.

Townend said: "The ongoing lack of rainfall means the flow in rivers and groundwater levels in certain parts of our area are very low and have now reached our trigger for declaring a drought.

"Even if we receive a few weeks of rain, we cannot quickly reverse the effects of the lack of rainfall during a very dry spring and summer."

She added: "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Yorkshire Drought Plan.

"As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent.

"We encourage people to be aware of the impacts of drought and use a little less water to speed up the recovery from drought."

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: "The recent rainfall is not yet enough to replenish all the water we've used over the spring and summer, and the Yorkshire drought declaration highlights the situation is still serious.

"Long-term resilience against our changing climate is a priority for this government."

Following the hottest and one of the driest summers on record, rainfall continued to be below average through September.

East Yorkshire was the driest area anywhere in the UK last month, with some locations recording less than 20% of expected rainfall.

Reservoirs are currently just above 40% capacity, well below the average for the time of year - and interestingly lower than they were at this time last year when a hosepipe ban was in force.

Groundwater levels are also very low across the chalk aquifers of East Yorkshire.

Drought status would in theory allow Yorkshire Water to reduce the flow out of some reservoirs which would normally replenish water courses, in order to slow their decline, and even apply for a hosepipe ban.

But because of the time of year, when demand for water in general falls as we head through autumn and winter, and rainfall normally increases, Yorkshire Water is not expected to apply for any restrictions.

However, the announcement of drought status is an early warning that should the rest of autumn and winter continue to be drier than normal, the region could face the prospect of water restrictions next summer.