Yorkshire Water is reporting that water usage has risen by 130 million litres a day during the recent hot weather – the increase is enough to supply the equivalent of the whole of Bradford which has a population of more than 550,000 people.

The water company is continuing to encourage customers to save water, as high temperatures have caused a surge in usage.

Yorkshire Water has also warned that if the weather forecast continues to remain hot and dry, water usage could rise further, nearing last year’s record breaking peak of 1.56 billion litres used per day in Yorkshire.

The graph shows water usage in June in comparison to air temperatures. It shows both metrics steadily increasing until 6th June when both leap, with temperature increasing by around 10 degrees and water usage increasing by around 130 ml/d

Warm, dry weather can also cause difficult ground conditions for underground pipes, causing them to crack and leak more than usual. Yorkshire Water’s 250 leakage inspectors use specialist equipment to find and fix the small leaks on its network to save as much water as possible and get them fixed before they worsen.

The water company is using its network of pipes to move water around the region and balance its reservoir stocks – which are currently higher than this time last year, but slightly below their usual level, at 82%.