We've had the driest 3 months in 154 years in the North West - this is what has been said about a hose pipe ban

According to the Environment Agency, reservoirs are 84 per cent full and there is now a medium, but increasing, risk of drought.

A spokesman said: “Across the North West we are in a period of prolonged dry weather, which is how we categorise the time before an official drought. This weather has impacted river flows across the region, and we could see wildlife impacts should this weather continue. We expect water companies to follow their drought plans and we are preparing for any potential dry weather-related incidents.”

Drought plans - reducing pressure

United Utility is a water supply company serving the North West and their current drought plan shows different levels of action, based on the severity of the drought. In Level 1, they would consider reducing the pressure in certain parts of the water network, to help reduce demand.

Level 2 shows that domestic customers would be temporarily banned from using hose pipes, except in exceptional circumstances. A Level 3 escalation would see commercial customers temporarily banned from the use of mechanical vehicle washes, filling nondomestic swimming pools (exclusions include public pools) and using hose pipes to clean the exterior (including windows) of nondomestic buildings.

What did they say about a hose pipe ban?

When United Utilities was asked about a hose pipe ban coming in for the North West, they declined a straight answer. This is what a spokesperson said: “Our focus right now is conserving water operationally for example through finding and fixing leaks and asking customers to do the same at home and in their garden with some very simple water saving tips as this will help to protect our resources and avoid any restrictions. The good news is there is some rain predicted over the next few weeks and we will monitor the impact of that on our reservoirs.”

They say they are working hard to make the best use of the region’s water resources, and have recorded their lowest levels of leakage across the North West - and in the last year has increased its find and fix rates by 70 per cent. There are now 100 teams working around the clock fixing over 800 leaks a week, saving over 3.5 million litres a day. Homes and businesses are also being offered water efficiency audits, and the company has engaged with 5,000 organisations so far helping them to identify and repair leaky taps, toilets and showers, and install water efficiency measures, saving 3.8 million litres of water every day.

The facts and figures

Accoring to a release titled North-west England water situation: April 2025 summary (updated May 15, 2025), cumulative rainfall over the last three months was classed between notably low and exceptionally low. North West England saw the third lowest rainfall on record since 1871 for this three month cumulative period, as did Lancashire.

As a result of the low rainfall during April, there was a further reduction in river flows across north-west England, with 14 river sites classed as “exceptionally low” flow. The lowest flow was in the River Eden at Kirkby Stephen with 15 per cent of the long term average.

Despite the Environment Agency stating the reservoir levels are 84 per cent full, the water report states differently. It says: “Total reservoir stocks for north-west England decreased from 81 per cent at the end of March to 71 per cent at the end of April. This is lower than the average of 90 per cent at this time of year as well as lower than this time last year when total reservoir stocks were 92 per cent.

“At the end of April reservoir storage (in terms of percentage) was highest at Crummock water at 100 per cent full and lowest at Rivington at 52 per cent. The combined storage at Haweswater and Thirlmere was 62 per cent being lower than the 88 per cent average storage at this time of year and lower than last year when storage was 96 per cent. Haweswater storage is the lowest it has been at the end of April since records began in 1980.”