Newcastle and North East escape hosepipe ban - but Geordies issued serious warning

Newcastle and the North East have escaped a hosepipe ban that has been implemented for millions across the UK today.

On Friday, August 12 the Environment Agency moved eight of its 14 areas into drought status - those are Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and the East Midlands.

That means that Tyneside has escaped the ban for now, but Northumbrian Water is warning residents that there is still a serious shortage in the region.

Newcastle has seen the driest spring and summer since 1996 with Northumbrian Water seeing demand shoot up by 20%.

Additional staff have worked to find and repair leaks caused by ground movement in hot water but reservoir lowers remain lower than normal at this point of the year.

Keith Haslett, Water Director at Northumbrian Water, said: “We are not anticipating the need for any restrictions on water usage this summer, however we are keeping a close watch on the situation and our teams are planning ahead for the rest of summer into Autumn, as the winter recharge will be important.

“As an environmentally responsible company, we are monitoring and carefully managing the resources we take from the environment and to help protect the region, we are encouraging our customers to use water wisely and preserve precious resources where they can. The smallest changes really do make the biggest difference.

“The teams are working incredibly hard to make sure that our reservoirs can recover over the autumn period, and this will help us to ensure that we can keep the water flowing for customers throughout winter and into next year.”

In order to maintain the health of the region’s rivers, the Kielder Transfer Scheme has started – which will be moving around 30 million litres of water per day from Kielder reservoir into the River Wear.

The transfer, which started on Thursday 11th August, was the first time a Tyne-Wear transfer has been made in 16 years.