Hosepipe ban: Yorkshire Water losing 54 litres per person every day as restrictions are imposed

The figure was highlighted after the utility firm announced on Friday that it was imposing a hosepipe ban due to exceptionally low rainfall this year which has left reservoir levels worryingly low.

Labour councillors in Sheffield said Yorkshire Water loses 283,000,000 litres of water each day – the equivalent of 54.2 litres per person in Yorkshire.

Putting those numbers in perspective, they said it takes around 10,000,000 litres of water a year to keep the pitch at Wembley Stadium in world-class condition, yet Yorkshire Water loses more than 28 times this much on a daily basis.

Park and Arbourthorne councillor Ben Miskell said: “It is simply outrageous that Yorkshire Water are losing water to leakage at the scale they are, while at the same time raking in millions in profits.

“I have previously said that Yorkshire Water must make fixing broken pipes its number one priority. Knowing now the scale of water they are losing every day makes this even more urgent.

“The Government needs to step up and intervene to ensure that our water network gets the attention and improvements it has been denied, rather than let the general public continue to suffer from its neglect.”

Minesh Parekh, Labour and Co-operative councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, said that on its website the provider celebrates losing that amount in leakages, saying it more than met its leakage target.

Hoespipe ban: Sheffield plant nursery shares tips on how to save water for your garden

He said: “It is abhorrent that they would celebrate losing 283,000,000 litres everyday and say that that has met their targets, while at the same time trying to restrict the amount of water households are using, because of the private company’s own failing.”

In a statement, Yorkshire Water said: “Reducing water lost through leaks is one of our key priorities, we have reduced it by 50% since our last hosepipe ban in 1995/6 and we are aiming to reduce it by a further 5 per cent by 2025.

“We’re working hard to fix leaky pipes all year round – this summer we also have extra people in our field teams and have adopted a seven-day working pattern so that we can find and fix leaks quicker.”