A WARNING has been issued that water levels are getting low ­in the North West – and have encouraged residents to save water.

United Utilities has emailed a number of its customers twice in a fortnight, stating that local reservoirs were only 40 per cent full when they should be at 70 per cent capacity at this time of year.

A spokesman for the water company said there was no reason to panic, but urged residents save water by following simple steps, including: Turning the tap off when brushing your teeth and having a four-minute shower instead of a bath.

He added: “Whatever the weather, we always ask our customers to use water wisely, and this is a timely reminder that water is a precious resource that we share with the environment.

“Reservoirs always tend to be at their lowest at the end of summer ahead of the winter refill, however, some of our reservoirs are lower than we would expect at this time of year.

“In the Lake District, where we have key reservoirs that can supply Bolton and Bury, summer was much drier than usual this year.

“You get your tap water from reservoirs in the Lake District, such as Haweswater and Thirlmere, which are currently very low, only 40 per cent full, rather than 70 per cent which is the level we would expect in September.

“We have also been supplying more water than usual due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic as more people have been working from home and taking holidays in the region.

“We are using our huge interconnected system of pipes to move water around the region so that we take less from sensitive water sources wherever we can.

“We have been working hard to get leakage to the lowest level it has ever been and we have no plans for any water use restrictions.”

The email sent to residents said: “The recent dry spell and warmer weather over the summer, along with more of us staying at home during the holidays, working from home or choosing to holiday more locally, has meant a big increase in the amount of water being used. We’re supplying 59 million more litres of water every day to meet demand.

“Although there have been some wetter days more recently, the rain we’ve had hasn’t made enough of a difference as water is still being used far more quickly than reservoirs have been able to fill up.”

Tips to save water can be found at https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-and-support/save-water/