Storm Amy brings a silver lining to North Yorkshire as reservoirs start to recover

The arrival of Storm Amy means reservoir levels in Yorkshire have now increased for four weeks in a row after a year of drought.

Dave Kaye, director of water services at Yorkshire Water, said: "Periods of very heavy rainfall and a named storm have, thankfully, provided some much-needed relief for our reservoirs, as well as groundwater sources and the region’s rivers.

"We’re hopeful that the recovery will continue through autumn and winter so that we are in a strong position as we approach spring and summer 2026."

The county’s reservoir stocks have increased to 52.9%, up from 46.2% the previous week.

It’s the highest level since early July when they stood at just more than 50%.

But the water company is warning that reservoirs still remain well below the 70.7% average for this time of year and normality has not yet returned.

In particular, hosepipe restrictions will remain in place in Yorkshire.

Dave Kaye said: “Stocks are still well below where they should be at this time of year and we’re expecting another period of dry weather over the next week to ten days.

"There is still a long way to go in terms of recovering from the driest spring and warmest summer on record."

Yorkshire Water say the drought permits they put in place around the region are keeping more water in the reservoirs and allowing increased abstraction, both of which will help reservoirs stocks to recharge in the coming weeks and months.

In addition, the water company is maintaining efforts to tackle more than 800 leaks per week in order to keep more water in the network.

Yorkshire Water said it was grateful for residents’ support for water-saving measures which did make a difference.

Dave Kaye said:: “Once again we’d like to thank customers for their efforts to adhere to the restrictions and for taking further steps to conserve water resources where they can.”

Until Storm Amy, the UK had received 44% of its expected annual rainfall so far.