River levels in Skipton and the Dales have been falling due to the hot weather – but there’s no sign of a hosepipe ban.

Yorkshire Water plans to keep its promise to avoid a hosepipe ban this year, despite rivers and reservoirs coming under pressure, with demand for water in Yorkshire at a high during July.

Since the heatwave began, Yorkshire Water’s customers have been using around 100 million litres a day more than the 1.3 billion they usually get through.

However, supplies are still healthy due to the downpours we experienced last summer.

A Yorkshire Water spokeswoman said: “There’s no plan for any kind of hosepipe ban – the stocks we have are enough to keep us going. We did promise people there wasn’t going to be a hosepipe ban this year.

“We will monitor the levels very closely. The river levels are down and the reservoir levels are down slightly as well, but I imagine the rain we’re getting this week will top that up slightly.”

The river level at the Environment Agency’s monitoring point at Skipton Morrisons is 0.2 metres – within the typical river level range of between 0.01 metres and 1.10 metres.

At Broughton Hall, the river level is 0.15 metres – again within the typical range of between 0.16 metres and 1.60 metres.

However, Yorkshire Water is still urging people to be careful about how much water they use.

Turning the tap off when you’re brushing your teeth could save six litres of water per person. Using a watering can instead of a sprinkler could save up to 1,000 litres of water an hour. A four-minute shower instead of a bath could save up to seven litres of water.

There are also a number of free water-saving gadgets available from Yorkshire Water’s website: www.yorkshirewater.com/savewater An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “River levels did start falling in July but have now gone back up to normal levels since then.”

However she said there was further hot weather predicted after this week and asked people to keep an eye on local rivers and fish.

Hot temperatures and low rainfall can lead to low oxygen levels in the water, placing fish at risk.

Michael Donkin, environment monitoring team leader at the Environment Agency, said: “Long periods of hot weather with low rainfall can see significant changes in water conditions. Migratory fish can become distressed or even at risk of death because oxygen levels can drop substantially.

“Any reports can be given to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 807060. It’s free to call this number and your timely information could help save these important species.”