Yorkshire Water criticised for wasting 304 megalitres of water every day as region prepares for hosepipe ban

But a trade union criticises the company for leaking the equivalent of 122 Olympic sized swimming pools every day.

Yorkshire Water, which serves Sheffield and the rest of South Yorkshire, is one of five private water companies that are about to, or already have, impose a hosepipe ban.

Yorkshire Water says a hosepipe ban is needed because Yorkshire has had a dry March, April, May, June and July with ‘34 per cent less rain than the long term average’.

The GMB trade union has questioned whether a hosepipe ban is a proportionate solution, given the fact that data from the Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, shows that the average daily wastage from Yorkshire Water in 2021/2022 was 304.6 megalitres or 122 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

In total, Thames Water, Southern Water, South East Water, South West Water and Yorkshire Water wasted 460 billion litres of water in the financial year 2020/21, which equates to losing 1.2 billion litres every 24 hours.

Andy Prendergast, GMB national secretary, said the trade union has ‘long campaigned for water to be brought back into public hands’.

He added: “Tens of millions of people face a hosepipe ban while these privatised companies let more than 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of water go down the plug hole every single day.

“It’s a disgrace that customers face a £1,000 fine as private water fat cats trouser millions, all the while failing to sufficiently tackle leakage and refusing to invest in the workforce.

“Privatising water has been a disastrous failed experiment, it’s time to bring this essential natural resource back into public hands.”

Yorkshire Water’s hosepipe ban will come into force on Friday, August 26.

Confirming the hosepipe ban on Friday, August 12, Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Neil Dewis, said: “We’ve been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but unfortunately, they’re now necessary as part of our drought planning.

"We’re grateful to our customers, who have been saving water where they can this summer. It is really important that we all continue to do so, to help protect our water resources and the environment.

"We’ve been monitoring reservoir levels, weather forecasts and other environmental indicators closely to determine whether we might need to put further measures in place."

If caught breaching the hosepipe ban, people can face fines of up to £1,000 depending on the severity of the breach.

South Yorkshire drought: Environment Agency confirms drought status for Yorkshire after period of dry weather

The ban means residents cannot:

– Water a garden using a hosepipe

– Wash the car using a hosepipe

– Water plants with a hosepipe

– Fill or maintain a domestic swimming pool or children’s paddling pool

– Draw water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use

– Clean paths or patios using a hosepipe

– Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe

Yorkshire Water says people can still do these activities without using a hosepipe if they use tap water from a bucket or watering can.

Or, residents can use use water not sourced from taps, such as grey water, rainwater from a water butt, or a private borehole.

The ban does not affect businesses if the hosepipe use is directly related to a commercial purpose – for example, at a hand car wash.

Blue badge holders, those on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services register or WaterSure tariff for medical reasons, are also excluded from the ban.