YORKSHIRE Water has applied to the Environment Agency for a drought permit on the River Wharfe.

The region has seen below-average rainfall since the end of February 2022 and reservoirs are currently around a third full, which is much lower than usual for this time of year.

Patchy rainfall, like the region has seen recently, doesn’t have a significant impact on reservoir stocks straight away. When the ground has been extremely dry it needs rain to rewet it before it begins to impact reservoir levels.

The drought permit would allow the water company to change the amount of water that it puts into the Wharfe from Grimwith Reservoir that supports abstractions from the river, in order to support reservoir stocks and drinking water production.

Granville Davies, clean water and catchment strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Although we have had some intermittent rainfall, reservoir levels are still significantly below where we would expect for this time of year and are only around a third full.

"As the ground has been incredibly dry this summer, we are going to need quite a lot of wet weather over the next few months before they return to their usual levels, so it’s really important that people keep taking steps to save water.

“We are taking further steps to look after our reservoir stocks. The hosepipe ban we introduced in August helps to reduce water use and pressure on our reservoirs, and it also allows us to apply to the Environment Agency for drought permits, which will help us protect drinking water supplies and the environment.”