Yorkshire enters drought, but water firm plans no restrictions

The Environment Agency has declared drought status in Yorkshire because of low water levels in reservoirs and rivers, but Yorkshire Water has said it is not planning to introduce water restrictions for customers at this time.

The agency announced the change on 9 October. It follows its declaration of prolonged dry weather for the area at the end of July, after a lack of spring and summer rainfall, and applies to many parts of Yorkshire despite recent rain.

Yorkshire joins all of central, southern and eastern England in drought status, while the North East and North West remain in prolonged dry weather.

Vicki Townend, the agency’s area environment manager in Yorkshire, said the area “has had the 5th driest April to September on record”. “Even if we receive a few weeks of rain, we cannot quickly reverse the effects of the lack of rainfall during a very dry spring and summer,” Townend said.

Yorkshire Water said drought status does not automatically mean restrictions are required, and that its work to manage supplies, reduce leakage and move water around the region’s network meant it was not planning any for customers at this time.

The company said its reservoir stocks stand at 42.7%, below the 52.9% at this point in 2025, which it put down in part to wetter weather in September 2025.

Andy Shaw, the company’s head of water production, treatment and energy, said demand remains unusually high for the time of year. “Winter rainfall will be important in helping reservoir and groundwater levels recover, and we will continue to monitor conditions closely,” Shaw said.

The company asked customers to keep using water wisely, suggesting shorter showers, full washing machine loads and checking for leaks at home.

In its weekly drought report covering 2 to 8 October, the Environment Agency listed temporary use bans in force across all or part of the supply areas of 10 water companies, among them Thames Water, Anglian Water and South West Water. Yorkshire Water does not appear on it.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “The recent rainfall is not yet enough to replenish all the water we’ve used over the spring and summer, and the Yorkshire drought declaration highlights the situation is still serious.”

The agency encouraged people to use a little less water to speed up the recovery from drought. It said this is the third drought in five years, after 2022 and 2025.

The National Drought Group, which brings together the government, regulators, water companies and others, is meeting weekly. Its next meeting is scheduled for 12 October.