Latest news with #reservoirs
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sunken structure warning as reservoir levels fall
Sightseers have been warned to keep to paths around reservoirs as previously sunken structures become exposed due to falling water levels. Yorkshire Water's Alastair Harvey also said that while taking a dip in reservoirs during hot weather may seem enticing for some, it also brought danger and should not be risked. The firm announced a hosepipe ban earlier in July and said reservoir levels stood at just over 50% - "significantly below" the average for early July, which is nearer 80%. "We'd advise sticking to the walking routes on public footpaths and don't be tempted to go for a dip in the shallows or walk on the newly exposed embankment, as there can be risks of sinking mud," Mr Harvey said. Yorkshire Water owns and manages about 120 reservoirs, including Langsett Reservoir near Barnsley, Ogden Reservoir in Halifax and Doe Park Reservoir in Bradford. Baitings Reservoir near Ripponden is notable for its sunken bridge but the firm warned it should not be crossed. Similarly, Thruscross Reservoir near Harrogate hides the submerged village of West End, which is visible when water levels drop but should only be viewed from a distance and not approached. Mr Harvey reiterated previous warning about not swimming in reservoirs, citing cold water shock, underwater hazards and more. "Sadly, we've seen incidents in Yorkshire when people have lost their lives in reservoirs and other open water," he said. Over the summer, Yorkshire Water's ranger teams will be engaging with reservoir visitors on water safety, providing information about the sites and encouraging people to follow the Countryside Code. The company has asked people to refrain from using disposable barbecues or starting fires and has asked visitors to take litter home and keep dogs on leads, especially around livestock. "We want people across Yorkshire and beyond to enjoy our reservoirs and surrounding countryside, but it's important that people consider their behaviours and do not take risks that could impact the local natural environment and wildlife, or that puts them in harm's way," Mr Harvey said. The firm said anti-social behaviour should be reported to the police and anyone who saw a fire or someone in need of help to call 999. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North More stories like this Hosepipe ban remains despite heavy rainfall Disabilities, paddling pools and other hosepipe ban questions answered UK's first hosepipe ban 'to last until winter' Related internet links Yorkshire Water
BBC News
4 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Yorkshire Water reservoir visitors warned to keep to paths
Sightseers have been warned to keep to paths around reservoirs as previously sunken structures become exposed due to falling water Water's Alastair Harvey also said that while taking a dip in reservoirs during hot weather may seem enticing for some, it also brought danger and should not be firm announced a hosepipe ban earlier in July and said reservoir levels stood at just over 50% - "significantly below" the average for early July, which is nearer 80%."We'd advise sticking to the walking routes on public footpaths and don't be tempted to go for a dip in the shallows or walk on the newly exposed embankment, as there can be risks of sinking mud," Mr Harvey said. Yorkshire Water owns and manages about 120 reservoirs, including Langsett Reservoir near Barnsley, Ogden Reservoir in Halifax and Doe Park Reservoir in Bradford. Baitings Reservoir near Ripponden is notable for its sunken bridge but the firm warned it should not be Thruscross Reservoir near Harrogate hides the submerged village of West End, which is visible when water levels drop but should only be viewed from a distance and not approached. Mr Harvey reiterated previous warning about not swimming in reservoirs, citing cold water shock, underwater hazards and more."Sadly, we've seen incidents in Yorkshire when people have lost their lives in reservoirs and other open water," he the summer, Yorkshire Water's ranger teams will be engaging with reservoir visitors on water safety, providing information about the sites and encouraging people to follow the Countryside company has asked people to refrain from using disposable barbecues or starting fires and has asked visitors to take litter home and keep dogs on leads, especially around livestock."We want people across Yorkshire and beyond to enjoy our reservoirs and surrounding countryside, but it's important that people consider their behaviours and do not take risks that could impact the local natural environment and wildlife, or that puts them in harm's way," Mr Harvey firm said anti-social behaviour should be reported to the police and anyone who saw a fire or someone in need of help to call 999. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Bloomberg
23-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Greece Plans to Merge Hundreds of Water Firms as Drought Worsens
Greece plans to merge hundreds of small water companies, as the government tackles a worsening drought that's left reservoirs supplying Athens at the lowest level in three decades. More than 700 water firms, mainly controlled by municipalities, will be combined into three to improve management of the scarce resource, a person familiar with the plan said. The existing companies for Athens and Thessaloniki — EYDAP and EYATH — will expand their coverage, while a third entity will take responsibility for the rest of the country, the person said, asking not to be identified as the plan isn't yet public.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Hosepipe ban remains despite heavy rainfall
A hosepipe ban will remain in force across Yorkshire despite recent heavy rainfall, the region's water company has ban, which stops people using hosepipes for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool, was brought in amid an extended spell of very hot, dry weather across Kaye, from Yorkshire Water, said although rain at the weekend was "very welcome" it was "not going to improve things to a level where reservoir stocks recover".Previously, the company's chief executive said restrictions, which apply to customers across much of Yorkshire, parts of North Lincolnshire and parts of Derbyshire, were expected to remain until winter. When the hosepipe ban was announced earlier this month, Yorkshire Water said reservoir levels stood at just over 50% - a record low for the time of the year and "significantly below" the average for early July, which is nearer 80%.Mr Kaye said some parts of the region experienced more than 20mm of rain (0.8in) over Saturday and Sunday, which had helped slow the weekly decline of reservoirs. However, he added: "We've had five months of below long-term average rainfall in Yorkshire, so one weekend is not going to improve things to a level where reservoir stocks recover, as we continue to supply more than 1.2bn litres of water to customers every day."Crucially the rain has also replenished rivers and groundwater, meaning we can increase our abstraction from rivers and groundwater to reduce pressure on reservoirs.""Despite the rain over the weekend and early part of this week, the hosepipe restrictions remain in place in our region."
BBC News
19-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Why is it so difficult to build new reservoirs?
After the country's warmest and driest spring for more than 50 years, Yorkshire's reservoirs are now almost half Water, which manages 120 reservoirs, said water stocks were around 55% after England's warmest June on record, compared to a summer average of 81%.Reservoirs help protect against water shortages during droughts by collecting excess rainfall during wet the current drought, questions have been asked about why we cannot build more of them to future-proof supplies for a growing population. There were major reservoir building projects in Yorkshire in the 1960s, when Thruscross near Harrogate was constructed, and 40 years ago, when Grimwith in the Dales was expanded - although the original reservoir on the site dated back to year the government announced proposals to build nine new reservoirs by 2050, but none are likely to be operational for at least 10 major reservoirs have been completed in England since 1992, shortly after the water sector was privatised. UK's first 2025 hosepipe ban declared in Yorkshire Many of the largest sites were developed during the Victorian era, when the country rapidly industrialised and the urban population increased. City corporations - the forerunner to modern councils - purchased land in rural areas to flood, often displacing entire villages whose residents were forced to near Pateley Bridge, was one of 11 reservoirs built by the Bradford Corporation to supply the growing city, and Leeds Waterworks Company invested in labour-intensive projects in the Washburn Valley, where Swinsty, Fewston and Lindley Wood were built in the South Yorkshire, Langsett Reservoir, completed in 1904, supplies Sheffield and Barnsley, and the Sheffield Waterworks Company also built a group of four reservoirs in the Bradfield area in the late 19th Century. Ownership of these sites eventually passed to Yorkshire Kevin Grecksch, associate professor of water science, policy and management at the University of Oxford, said the idea of "locking" water in storage areas was ancient and had been practised since agriculture first would manage their own small-scale reservoirs before large public works commenced during the Industrial Revolution."A lot of this happened in the Midlands and Yorkshire, where the textile mills, steel and coal mining and pottery industries all needed enormous amounts of water," he World War Two, there was a second wave of reservoir construction."Cities like Liverpool and Manchester had growing populations and needed water." Why don't we build reservoirs anymore? Building new reservoirs could be "challenging", said a Yorkshire Water spokesperson, in terms of cost, finding suitable sites, planning constraints and the environmental and community impact."It is more complicated to build reservoirs now because they will inevitably face a lot of opposition", said Dr Grecksch."In the 1950s, big environmental protest groups didn't exist, so there wasn't the big opposition we'd see today."They are all controversial, because they're massive, imposing pieces of infrastructure."The government has already said that plans for seven of the proposed new reservoirs around the country would be designated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP), meaning decisions would be made above local authority level. But Dr Grecksch said this process could exclude the public."We're in a situation in 2025 where we need to discuss these things with people, and explain why we need it," he are normally built using acts of Parliament, including the Reservoirs Act 1975, which regulates their safety. But the case of the Tryweryn reservoir in Wales, said Dr Grecksch, showed what could happen when the local planning system was demand for water was growing in Liverpool in 1995, the Welsh village of Capel Celyn was earmarked as the site for a new reservoir to serve the city.A decade later, the village was flooded and 75 people had to leave their homes, which were submerged along with farms, a school, chapel and post most appropriate locations for reservoirs are often in upland areas where an existing river valley can be flooded. The Peak District National Park proved ideal for many of them, as they were close enough to supply cities such as Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham and water from a more remote area to a population centre can add significant the mid-1990s, Yorkshire Water built a new ring main pipe system designed to help supplies flow from the east of the region to the more landlocked and drought-stricken western half of the network moves both raw water and treated drinking water, according to the company. But while that measure has apparently been successful, the building of new major reservoirs has stalled. Do we need any new reservoirs? We need more water in the UK because we do not have enough, said Dr Grecksch – but reservoirs, he added, were only part of the advocates for water reuse schemes, where waste water can be redeployed for agriculture."We all need water – it's not about restricting it. We need measures to simply save a little bit of water," he Megan Klaar, associate professor of hydrology at The University of Leeds, agreed that building reservoirs "is one tool in the toolbox"."We need to build reservoirs to capture water when it does rain, but we also need to think about reusing water much more smartly," she Klaar, who grew up with water rationing in her native California, said she did not think such restrictions would be in place in the UK "in the near future". But she added: "We need to start preserving the resources we do have, so we don't transition into that reality." As an alternative to building new reservoirs, Yorkshire Water has looked at other options, including increasing the use of ground and surface water collection."We have been looking at all options for additional water and ways in which we can reduce demand together over the longer term," said a company firm was building two new boreholes - large wells dug deep into the ground to access water - the spokesperson said the company was also building "new water treatment works to support our grid network so we're able to add resilience into our water supply network". However, they added, these were only short-term measures."In the longer term, we're reflecting on the rapid effects of climate change, data centres (which use huge amounts of water), and customer demand increases."We'll be thinking and planning for how we can meet the future needs of our customers. One of the options that we will be considering if whether additional reservoirs are needed."With additional reporting from Spencer Stokes. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
