IN response to recent rainfall, Yorkshire Water has amended its approach to applying for drought permits on the River Wharfe.

Yorkshire Water holds licences, granted by the Environment Agency, which set the rules around how much water it can abstract from rivers and how much water it should release to support river levels. During prolonged dry weather, as the region has seen this year, the water company can apply for additional permits, called drought permits, which allow it to change the amount of compensation or abstraction of certain rivers. Drought permits help water companies protect drinking water stocks and the environment in line with their agreed drought plans.

According to Yorkshire Water’s drought plan, there are two options for drought permits on the River Wharfe. One option, which the company applied for in October, is to reduce the amount of water it releases into the Wharfe from Grimwith reservoir when river levels are very low, in order to protect reservoir stocks. However, in recent weeks significant rainfall has meant that river levels are now much higher, so the need to support abstraction by releasing water from Grimwith has significantly reduced.

Due to the increase in river levels, Yorkshire Water has withdrawn the permit application made in October, and instead applied for the second permit that is in its drought plan. If granted, the new permit would increase to the annual abstraction limit on Yorkshire Water’s licence, allowing the river to continue to support public water supply and recovery of reservoir levels through the winter period.

The permit wouldn’t change the amount of water Yorkshire Water can take at any one time from the river, but instead means it can increase the total volume of water it can take throughout the year which will help top up water supplies across the region.

Granville Davies, manager of water and catchment strategy at Yorkshire Water, said: “With reservoir levels falling very early this year due to the dry spring, we have been using our river abstractions more than we normally would. In order for us to have certainty that we can continue to maximise use of these abstractions through the winter period and support reservoir recovery, we want to increase the total amount that we can take up to 31st March 2023.”