NORTH Yorkshire is at 'mild risk' of drought as reservoir levels drop by two per cent in a week, it has emerged.

Temporary hosepipe bans are to be implemented across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Pembrokeshire throughout this month after England and Wales experienced its driest July in decades following the heatwave – but what is the risk of this happening in North Yorkshire?

This ban means that people will not be allowed to use hosepipes to water their gardens or patios, clean cars or windows, or fill their swimming or paddling pools.

Across Yorkshire as a whole, reservoir levels are currently at 51 per cent of normal levels, and have dropped by two per cent over the last week despite recent rain.

North Yorkshire is currently at a 'mild risk' of a drought.

York Press: Map showing risks of drought in UK: Picture UK Centre for Ecology and HydrologyMap showing risks of drought in UK: Picture UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

The standard precipitation index, which measures the probability of rain, shows the moisture deficit for soils, groundwater and reservoir storage, for North Yorkshire is at -1 to 0 - with 0 being the normal level. 

Yorkshire Water has not declared either way if our region is at risk of a temporary hosepipe ban.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Yorkshire has experienced a particularly dry spring and summer and the reservoirs and rivers in our region are seeing the impact.

“We’re always asking our customers to reduce their usage where they can and allow their lawns to go brown, not wash the car for a few weeks and turn the taps off when they’re brushing their teeth to stop waste and reduce the likelihood of restrictions later in the summer.

“We’re working around the clock to move water around our network of pipes to keep taps flowing and we’re doing our bit to save water where we can too.

“Our team of leakage inspectors are out and about across Yorkshire, working hard to save water from leaky pipes, and are prioritising larger leaks.”

The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology produced this map of the UK to show the risk of drought in areas across the country.

The darker the red colour of the region, the greater the risk of drought as the area is drier, and the darker the blue colour, the lesser the risk of a drought as the area is wetter.

North Yorkshire is shaded in a paler pink to show that the risk of a drought is mild – meaning that our region is not at as great a risk as the south of the country