Latest news with #DaveKaye
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Yorkshire enters drought after driest spring in 132 years
Yorkshire has become the second area of England to enter drought after the country recorded its driest spring in 132 years. Hosepipe bans could be possible if the region did not have significant rainfall in the coming weeks as, despite recent showers, reservoir stocks were continuing to dwindle. Yorkshire Water reservoir stocks dropped 0.51% over the last week to 62.3%, significantly below the average of 85.5% for this time of year. Last month, north-west England entered drought status as reservoir levels fell to half their capacity. Much of the rest of the country is in prolonged dry status, which is the step before drought. Warm and dry weather is forecast, and long-range forecasts suggest a greater-than-normal chance of a hot summer. Met Office data shows Yorkshire recorded its warmest spring for mean temperature this year since records began in 1884. Dave Kaye, the director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: 'We had one of the driest springs on record, which has impacted our reservoir levels, meaning they are much lower than normal for this time of year. Without significant rainfall in the coming months, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility.' The impacts of drought are already being felt in the region. Hot and dry weather can increase wildfires, and there have been several on the Pennine moorland, including large fires at Marsden Moor, Wessenden and Rishworth Moor. Farmers have also reported the beginnings of crop failures. Low water levels have made navigation difficult on canals and some rivers in the region, and there are a number of closures and restrictions in place to preserve water across the Canal & River Trust network, predominantly on the Leeds & Liverpool canal. People across England have been asked to conserve water as summer begins amid low river flows, groundwater levels and reservoir levels. Claire Barrow, the Environment Agency's planning manager for Yorkshire, said: 'Our climate is changing, and we had 22 days of almost no recorded rainfall in May. 'While we have had some rain at the start of June, it has not been enough to reverse the impacts of the prolonged dry weather. 'We are working with Yorkshire Water to make sure they enact their drought plans. We also encourage people to be aware of the environmental impacts of droughts as we enter the summer period and note the small steps we can all take to save water.' Scientists have said climate breakdown will make rain droughts more likely as a result of less predictable rainfall. There have not been any major reservoirs built in England for more than 30 years, but the government has announced it has approved two to begin construction. The Guardian reported recently that to avert a drought there would need to be rainfall at levels last seen in 2012, when record-breaking deluges caused floods across the country. This does not look likely, with hot, dry weather forecast.
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Yorkshire Water outlines plans to reduce leakage
Yorkshire Water has outlined plans for reducing supply leaks following the recent declaration of a drought in the it continued to call on customers to reduce their usage, the firm said it was investing £16m this year to help cut the number of leaks and had recruited 100 leakage October, the Environment Agency (EA) reported that 21% of Yorkshire Water's supplies were lost due to leakage, higher than the national average of 19%.Dave Kaye, from Yorkshire Water, said: "We are carefully managing supplies, as well as finding and fixing leaks quickly, prioritising those losing the most water first." Mr Kaye, the company's director of water, also said Yorkshire Water was making a "significant investment to tackle leakage across the county"."We've already delivered a 15% reduction in leakage over the last five years, and we'll be investing a further £16m this year to further drive down leakage as part of a £38m package over the next five years," he explained."We've also recruited 100 more leakage inspectors who are on the clock 24/7 to find and fix leaks and bursts." The EA has previously called on water companies to halve the amount of water leaking from their pipes by faced a 5bn-litre public water shortage by 2055 "without urgent action", the EA 2023-24, Yorkshire Water lost 47.9ml of water per day per person through leakage, higher than the national average of 45.8ml per day per Kaye said the firm had begun plans to replace more than 620 miles (1,000km) of water mains in areas of York, Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster and North Yorkshire which were particularly prone to supply disruptions and the EA declared a drought in Yorkshire on 12 June following weeks of dry weather which had led to low reservoir levels, the firm called on customers to save Water said reservoir stocks had dropped 0.51% over the last week to 62.3%.The firm thanked customers for their efforts to use water wisely and asked them to continue protecting Kaye said: "Saving water is a community effort and customers can help out by making small changes to how they use water."He said those changes could include "using watering cans instead of hosepipes to water flowers and plants, letting lawns go brown as they'll bounce back following any rain, and using the eco setting on washing machines and dishwashers".All of those methods would "help protect resources further into the summer", Mr Kaye said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Yorkshire enters drought after driest spring in 132 years
Yorkshire has become the second area of England to enter drought after the driest spring in 132 years. Hosepipe bans for the region could be on the horizon if there is not significant rainfall in coming weeks, as, despite recent showers, the reservoir stocks continue to dwindle. Yorkshire Water reservoir stocks dropped 0.51% over the last week to 62.3%, which is significantly below the average (85.5%) for this time of year. Last month, the north-west of England entered drought status as reservoir levels fell to half their capacity. Much of the rest of the country is in prolonged dry status, which is the step before drought. Warm and dry weather is forecast, and long-range forecasts suggest a greater-than-normal chance of a hot summer. Met Office data shows spring 2025 was Yorkshire's warmest spring for mean temperature since records began in 1884. Dave Kaye, director of water at Yorkshire Water, said: 'We had one of the driest springs on record, which has impacted our reservoir levels, meaning they are much lower than normal for this time of year. Without significant rainfall in the coming months, temporary usage restrictions are a possibility.' The impacts of drought are already being felt. Hot and dry weather can increase wildfires, and Yorkshire has seen several wildfires on the Pennine moorland, including large fires at Marsden Moor, Wessenden, and Rishworth Moor. Farmers have also reported the beginnings of crop failures. Navigation has become difficult on canals and some rivers in the region due to low water levels, and there are a number of closures and restrictions in place to preserve water across the Canal & River Trust network, predominantly on the Leeds & Liverpool canal. People across England have been asked to conserve water as summer begins amid low river flows, groundwater levels and reservoir levels. Claire Barrow, the Environment Agency's planning manager for Yorkshire, said: 'Our climate is changing, and we had 22 days of almost no recorded rainfall in May. 'While we have had some rain at the start of June, it has not been enough to reverse the impacts of the prolonged dry weather. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion 'We are working with Yorkshire Water to make sure they enact their drought plans. We also encourage people to be aware of the environmental impacts of droughts as we enter the summer period and note the small steps we can all take to save water.' Climate breakdown will make droughts more likely, scientists have said, as rainfall becomes less predictable. There have not been any major reservoirs built in England for more than 30 years, but the government has announced that it has approved two to begin construction. The Guardian reported recently that to avert a drought there would need to be rainfall at levels last seen in 2012, when record-breaking deluges caused floods across the country. This does not look likely, with hot, dry weather ahead.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stocks remain low despite rain
Yorkshire Water has warned that reservoir levels remain low, despite rainfall in the region over the bank holiday weekend. Its reservoir stocks have been falling since late January due to one of the driest springs on record and increased customer demand during warmer temperatures. They dropped to 62.9% on Monday from 66.1% the previous week, which is far below the average of 87.8% for this time of year. The firm said the recent wet weather caused a "very small" increase in river flows, particularly in the rivers Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Aire, but many were dropping back down towards the "historically low levels" seen earlier in May. Dave Kaye, the company's director of water, said: "The rain over the weekend and the picture for an unsettled week ahead is a welcome relief for the region after a very dry spell. "While the rainfall over the weekend helped gardens recover and will help trees and plants in full spring growth, gardens and trees will have taken most of the rainfall, leaving less to run off into rivers, groundwater or to top up reservoirs." Yorkshire Water thanked customers for helping to create a drop in overall water usage in recent days and urged people to continue to save water where possible. "Coupled with wind and some sunshine, a lot of the rainfall has quickly evaporated," he added. "Soils are also very dry after nearly four months of very dry weather so will soak up a lot of rain, holding the water and not allowing it to flow to rivers or groundwater." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. Lowest rainfall in 90 years as temperatures set to soar Hosepipe ban 'unless rain comes' - Yorkshire Water Firm urges people to 'use water wisely' in gardens Yorkshire Water
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reservoir stocks remain low despite weekend rain
Yorkshire Water has warned that reservoir levels remain low, despite rainfall in the region over the bank holiday reservoir stocks have been falling since late January due to one of the driest springs on record and increased customer demand during warmer dropped to 62.9% on Monday from 66.1% the previous week, which is far below the average of 87.8% for this time of firm said the recent wet weather caused a "very small" increase in river flows, particularly in the rivers Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Aire, but many were dropping back down towards the "historically low levels" seen earlier in May. Dave Kaye, the company's director of water, said: "The rain over the weekend and the picture for an unsettled week ahead is a welcome relief for the region after a very dry spell."While the rainfall over the weekend helped gardens recover and will help trees and plants in full spring growth, gardens and trees will have taken most of the rainfall, leaving less to run off into rivers, groundwater or to top up reservoirs."Yorkshire Water thanked customers for helping to create a drop in overall water usage in recent days and urged people to continue to save water where possible."Coupled with wind and some sunshine, a lot of the rainfall has quickly evaporated," he added."Soils are also very dry after nearly four months of very dry weather so will soak up a lot of rain, holding the water and not allowing it to flow to rivers or groundwater." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
