Yorkshire hosepipe ban comes into force today - here is how to save water according to Yorkshire Water

The activities covered by the hosepipe ban include watering a garden using a hosepipe, cleaning vehicles or boats using a hosepipe, watering plants with a hosepipe, filling or maintaining a private swimming pool or paddling pool, drawing water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use, cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises using a hosepipe, cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe and cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Parts of Yorkshire have seen the lowest rainfall since our records began more than 130 years ago. The hot, dry, weather means that Yorkshire’s rivers are running low and our reservoirs are lower than we would expect for this time of year.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but unfortunately, they’re now necessary as part of our drought planning.”

Yorkshire Water has shared some tips for saving water during a prolonged dry bout of weather. The Environment Agency recently announced that 10 of England’s 14 regions are now officially in drought, including Yorkshire.

As Yorkshire introduces a hosepipe ban on Friday, August 26, the water company shares some of its top five water-saving tips.

1 - ‘Reuse and recycle’: While you wait for your shower to warm up, put a bucket under the water to catch what would have been wasted water and use it elsewhere in your house. This is a great way to water your plants or do the dishes with.

2 - ‘Leaky loo losses’: Nearly one in 10 households have a leaky loo. The average toilet leak loses around eight litres of water every hour, which collects up to more than two baths a day, or 876 baths a year per household.

3 - ‘Love your brown lawn’: When there is prolonged dry weather, grass can start to look brown, but not to worry, grass is one of the most resilient plants you can have in your garden, and it doesn’t have to be watered. When the rain does come, it will turn back to a vibrant green colour.

4 - ‘Sing while you save’: Keeping showers brief is a great way to reduce water use. Yorkshire Water has created a playlist of four-minute songs to help limit the time you take to shower - from Bon Jovi and Blur to S Club 7.

5 - ‘Mucky motors’: Washing your car can waste hundreds of litres of water, even just cleaning the mirrors, windows and lights with a bucket of soapy water will help to save on the amount you use.

Yorkshire Water also has a range of water-saving devices that are free to order from the website, including leaky loo detection strips, four-minute shower timers and shower regulators, which help to slow the flow of your shower.

Head of demand management at Yorkshire Water, Martyn Hattersley, said: “Our customers understand the challenge we’re currently facing and whilst we’re increasing efforts to save as much water as possible from leaky pipes, our customers are doing their bit to save water at home too. There are some really easy tips you can adopt to save water - such as keeping your showers short or reusing grey water to feed your plants.

“A huge thank you to our customers who are using water wisely. By reducing the amount of water used, we can help to keep as much water in reservoirs as possible and protect the environment. As the ground is incredibly dry at the moment, we would need a few months of wet weather to help them return to their usual levels, so it’s really important that people keep taking steps to save water.”