Dry weather has led to hosepipe bans being announced for South East England.

And with warmer weather on the way at a time of year when rainfall is typically low, the question of standpipes is on everyone’s minds, but according to Yorkshire Water spokesman Matt Thompson, the district’s water supplies aren’t giving cause for concern just yet.

Yorkshire Water admits the 1990s drought was a hard lesson learned. Since then, the company has invested in replacing Victorian cast iron pipes which still exist in parts of the county.

A pipe replacement scheme currently under way in Bradford district – part of a £290m investment in the region’s pipe network over the next 12 months – will see the replacement of pipes from the 1930s with a more pliable plastic.

Another investment is the hi-tech grid system unique to Yorkshire Water, which the company launched in the late-1990s.

The state-of-the-art technology enables water to be moved around the pipe network to different parts of the county where required.

“We invest customers’ money in the best possible way; improving our water pipes, the way we treat water before delivering it to their taps, and in the way we treat waste water before discharging it into water courses,” says Matt.

“There is evidence in the fact that our grid has come into its own. We have the lowest leakage levels on record and all this is coming about through investment into our network and hard work. We will continue to deliver results.”

While Yorkshire’s stocks are normal for this time of year, if we do have long spells of dry, warm weather, the company may have to look at imposing restrictions to conserve supplies.

“We would never rule out restrictions, but we have no plans currently to impose any,” says Matt. “But it is a dynamic situation which is changing all the time and one we continue to monitor closely.”

Yorkshire Water draws its water from three different sources. The company has more than 120 reservoirs which are currently 97 per cent full, as well as river water and bore holes.

Considering Yorkshire’s supplies are well-stocked, could the company be called upon to help out some of the drought-hit areas in the South?

Matt doesn’t rule it out: “If we were to find ourselves in a situation where we could capably supply the needs of our customers and still have water left, then we would not dismiss the possibility of helping support other water companies,” he says. “But our number one priority is our customers.”

Some of the responsibility for preserving water lies with householders. Using a watering can to water the garden instead of a hosepipe and turning the tap off while brushing teeth are some of the water saving tips available through yorkshirewater.com/savewater.

According to Matt, showers use ten litres of water a minute – if everyone cut their time showering by one minute nationally, enough water could be saved to supply London for between two to four months.

“In Bradford we have got some very water-wise customers who play their part in conserving what is a very precious resource,” says Matt.

“While we commend customers, I think we need to see them doing it even more. It’s changing the mind-set because clearly we are seeing a change in climate. Climate change is here, there are changes happening to our weather. Essentially, we are seeing it to be drier and also seeing sudden downpours as well.

“Really, our plea would be more than ever do everything you can to conserve what is a very precious resource and don’t take it for granted.”