Harrogate residents urged 'to think carefully about water usage' by Yorkshire Water as heatwave hits
Harrogate residents are being urged to “allow their lawns to go brown” by Yorkshire Water as the arrival of a new heat wave threatens to deepen the county’s drought problems.
Temperatures in the Harrogate area are predicted to soar to a high of 30C this weekend as the hottest spell of the summer so far arrives.
Given that reservoir levels already dropped to 61.4% last week in Yorkshire, from 62.3% the week before, Yorkshire Water is expecting water usage in the county to increase by as much as 100 million litres of water per day.
With the overall region now officially in drought, Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, is urging customers to cut their water usage, including not watering the lawn.
"With a warm and dry weather forecast for the remainder of the week and throughout the weekend, we’re urging customers to continue to think carefully about their water use and to encourage them to use water wisely,” said Mr Kaye.
“Simple things like watering the flowers and plants with a watering can instead of a hosepipe, allowing lawns to go brown and using a bucket and sponge to wash the car instead of a hosepipe, will all help to reduce water usage and protect resources into the summer months."
The changeable weather over recent weeks and customers’ efforts to save water has helped reduce the decline of reservoir stocks, but over the last week stock dropped by 0.86%.
After months of low rainfall levels, the heatwave set to start tomorrow is an additional problem for water stocks in our area.
According to the Met Office’s weather forecasts, the Harrogate area will see a sunny day on Thursday with top temperatures of 26C, sunny on Friday with a maximum of 29C, followed by 30C on Saturday.
Since the start of this dry year, Yorkshire Water has been closely monitoring rainfall levels, moving water around the region to areas that need it most and working 24/7 to find and fix leaks.
The water giant is now warning residents of possible temporary ban on using water if matters do not improve.
Dave Kaye said: “The region is now officially in drought, indicating just how dry a start to the year it has been.
"We have short, medium and long-term plans to deal with a drought and lack of rainfall, which includes possible temporary usage bans if we do not experience significant rainfall in the region in the coming weeks and months.”