Water usage in Yorkshire has dropped by up to 100 million litres following the introduction of the hosepipe ban, despite scorching temperatures.
Yorkshire Water has thanked customers for putting the hosepipes away, using water wisely, and continuing to report leaks over the hot weekend.
The ban was announced last Tuesday (8 July) and was introduced on Friday (11 July), with those who failed to follow the restrictions threatened with an £1000 fine.
Water usage over the weekend dropped by 80-100 million litres compared to the previous heatwaves in June, which is the equivalent to Hull’s daily supply.
Usage hit 1.39 billion litres on Saturday (12 July) and 1.37 billion litres on Sunday (13 July) as temperatures soared in the region, compared to 1.47 billion litres during the heatwaves of on 20 June and 30 June.
Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: “We understand the hosepipe restrictions are frustrating, but we’d like to thank customers who have put down the hosepipes over what was an extremely hot weekend. Usage decreased significantly compared to the previous heatwave.
“It’s important we all continue to do out bit to protect resources further into the summer and with some rainfall predicted in the next few days it’s a good time to install a water butt and collect grey water that can be used on gardens through the summer.”
As well as reduced demand, there has been a 52% increase in customers reporting leaks over the last two weeks.
Dave added: “We’d also like to thank customers who are reporting leaks to us. Taking the time to report leaks and not walking past them is vital. It helps us, particularly with smaller leaks, to investigate quickly and get the repair completed as soon as we can.
“Every leak is different and there are factors that mean we can’t always repair them as quickly as we would like.
“Repairs in the road require permission from local authorities and there is also the possibility of other utilities in the ground in the repair area, which requires additional time.”
He added: “We’re all in this together – the vast majority of our colleagues are customers too – and we’re all doing our bit at home and in the workplace to save water.”