Welsh Water say Llys Y Fran reservoir has reached 'drought level'

Pembrokeshire was placed under a hosepipe ban on Friday, August 19, at 8am affecting 60,000 homes.

Recent photos showed the shocking level to which Llys Y Fran has fallen to.

Images showed rocky banks and high watermarks, with masses amount of water depleted from the reservoir.

A representative told the Western Telegraph that the level the water has got is concerning, and that a ban was put in place to protect future months of water use.

“The reservoir has reached what we call its ‘drought’ level,” said a statement form Welsh Water.

“According to our Drought Plan this means we need to implement a hosepipe ban to help ensure there is enough water to continue to supply customers through the rest of the summer and into the autumn.”

Welsh Water says it is confident Llys Y Fran would refill and that coming out of last winter the dam was at 100 per cent.

Water levels are low at Llys Y Fran reservoir

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2022 has been one of the driest years in almost 30 years

Welsh Water went on to say they are working to fix leaks.

“We thank all our customers in the area for working with us and complying with the Temporary Use ban,” said Welsh Water. 

“We haven’t taken the decision to implement the ban lightly but it is essential to ensure we have enough water to keep supplying customers for the rest of the summer and into the autumn. 

“We are also doing our bit as well and have increased the number of people in the area we have finding and fixing leaks.

"This has seen us increase manpower in the area by 70 per cent which in turn means we are now detecting and fixing 40 per cent more leaks compared to 2021.

“We do however appreciate that customers can get frustrated if a leak isn’t fixed as soon as they report it to us.

“While the majority of leaks are fixed immediately, there are some which can prove to be more complex and requires traffic management so the work can be done safely. These then can take longer however we can assure our customers that we are doing everything we can to fix each one as quickly as we can.” 

There are currently no plans to implement any further restrictions.

Pembrokeshire has seen just over 60 per cent of the expected rainfall between March and July, with 2022 being the driest year since 1976.