United Utilities has announced that its hosepipe ban will be lifted today. In a statement the company said that recent rainfall had allowed water resources to recover sufficiently.
The ban was imposed on July 9 after the driest December to June spell to hit the region in more than 70 years. Significant rainfall from mid July to mid August has allowed United Utilities to announce an end to the ban - despite Pennine reservoir levels remaining below average for the time of year.
Richard Blackwell, United Utilities' supply demand manager, said:
"Reservoir levels have risen in recent weeks in Cumbria and North Wales and have stabilised in the Pennines with the rainfall over the last month. We now have sufficient reservoir storage overall to be able to lift the ban. This will come as welcome news to our millions of customers, who have been extremely patient and conscientious in their water usage.
"Our key reservoirs in Cumbria and North Wales are now at the kind of levels we would expect for the time of year. Pennine reservoir levels remain below normal, with some still at very low levels, but we are now able to compensate for this shortfall by moving more water from Cumbria and North Wales using our integrated pipe network. Overall, the situation is much improved and the ban is no longer required to safeguard essential supplies.”
United Utilities has estimated that since the ban was introduced its customers saved a total of 4 billion litres of water. The company still has a drought permit in place for Longdendale Valley, near Glossop, allowing it to reduce the amount of water released by the Longdendale reservoir system into the River Etherow.
United Utilities said it had yet to make use of the permit, and current reservoir levels meant that it was “very unlikely” to do so. It does not intend to apply for any further drought permits.
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