Sheffield weather: Ladybower, Derwent and Howden reservoirs near Sheffield half empty after dry summer

Official figures from Severn Trent Water reveal that the lowest of their Derwent Valley reservoirs, Howden, is currently less than a third full, while the giant Ladybower reservoir, next to the Snake Pass, has less than half its capacity.

The amount of water currently in the Ladybower can be seen by motorists driving past on the A57 at present. Levels appear to be low next to the Bridge near the Ladybower Inn, said one motorist who recently made the journey, as well as along the banks.

The levels come after a long spell of dry weather in the Sheffield area, which was recently broken by rainfall in the last week.

The Met Office is currently forecasting mainly dry weather over the next week in and around the city. Experts at the Met Office also say much of the UK saw below average rainfall this summer and when averaged out across the whole nation, the UK received 75 per cent of its average rainfall (181.2mm).

Despite the low appearance of the water levels, Severn Trent Water, which runs the reservoirs in the Derwent, is not concerned about the situation.

A spokesman said: “We’re comfortable with where our reservoirs are at the moment as the Autumn and Winter period is used to recharge after the summer, when rainfall was quite low.

“We’d always ask our customers to be aware of the amount of treated water they use though, and we’ve got some handy tips available at https://www.stwater.co.uk/wonderful-on-tap/save-water/you-can-make-a-difference/, and also offer subsidised water butts to our customers, as well as free items like regulated shower heads, cistern bags, plant water saving gel, and toilet leak detection tablets.”

Yorkshire Water says that reservoir levels at its facilities in and around the city are generally all right, and based on the last eight years of data, are slightly lower than some years, slightly higher than others and the same as a few.

The company says that it has been a fairly dry Autumn, but recent heavy rain has helped to top them up slightly. Yorkshire Water says is the same picture across the wider region.

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