Craven’s long, hot summer when the rain never came

So hot and dry was the summer of 1959 that thousands of households had their water supplies cut off for large parts of the day.

The drought forced factories to use crude, untreated water in an attempt to preserve public supplies and workers were laid off temporarily as production slowed down.

As reservoirs in West Craven became dangerously low, an emergency pipe was laid from Skipton’s Whinny Gill Reservoir to Elslack and arrangements were made with Giggleswick School for its own private water supply to be shared with the public.

And when the water did come through, residents needed reassurances from the district medical officer that, despite its murky appearance, the water was safe to drink.

The newly-formed Craven Water Board spent its first few months from June right up to November, when drought restrictions were finally lifted, issuing warning after warning to Craven residents to be economical with their water.

And for several months everyone became acutely aware of the exact number of days of water supply left for each village and area.

As late as September, the water board was taking out front page adverts in the Craven Herald warning people against the use of water for “cars, gardens or swilling”. People were to use dirty water to flush their toilets and to report all leakages immediately to the council.

West Craven was the worst hit, although the rest of Craven did not escape the threat of temporary cuts to supply and emergency standpipes. In other places, natural springs continued to provide people with water.

It was as early as June that, following a continuous spell of dry weather, both Earby and Barnoldswick had their water supplies cut off overnight from 6pm to 6am.

The cuts, which were to last for five months, were announced by the water board chairman, former Earby man, Mr S Waddington, who warned that unless they were effective, more cuts would have to follow. Mr Waddington urged residents and businesses to look upon water as a “precious commodity” and advised people to use water efficiently.

Barnoldswick’s reservoir at Elslack – which had a capacity of 50 million gallons of water – had just 15 and a half million gallons in June, 1959.

In a desperate race against time to avoid the two towns running out of water, it was decided to lay a five-mile pipe to pump water from Skipton’s Whinny Gill Reservoir to Elslack.

In the midst of a nationwide printing strike, when the majority of regional newspapers were not printed for six weeks, the Craven Herald’s emergency news sheet did its best to report on the situation.

On June 26, it was announced that a temporary main was to be laid above ground between the two reservoirs. It would cost in the region of £22,000 and was estimated to take eight weeks to complete. Within a week, and despite some rain, the situation at Elslack continued to get worse with the water level dropping even more. Cuts to supplies were saving 250,000 gallons a day and work began on the pipeline.

A week later and things were getting even worse.

There were threats that water supplies to West Craven homes would be on for just two hours a day, although promises were made that this would be increased to four so holidaymakers could go on their annual breaks “clean”.

By the middle of July and still with no significant rainfall, it was announced that reservoirs at both Earby and Barnoldswick would be dry by the end of the summer.

Supplies to homes – cut to just 12 hours a day – were to be reduced immediately to between 6am to 2pm during the week and from 10am to 4pm at the weekends.

Farmers using their own machinery were called in to help with the laying of the emergency pipeline and gangs of men worked throughout the day and night.

In Earby, householders were warned they had just 10 days of water left before their taps ran dry.

By late August, water was being pumped to Elslack from Skipton at the rate of 8,500 gallons an hour. Two pumps were needed to get the water uphill to Elslack – one at Carleton at the bottom of the hill and one on the hill itself. The pumps, which were on loan from the fire service, were manned by firefighters who worked on shifts around the clock.

The cost of the emergency operation was estimated – on top of the £22,000 for the pipe itself – to be £500 a week.

But, despite the emergency pipeline, West Craven householders were still urged to be economical as consumption continued to exceed the flow of water.

Meanwhile, British Waterways was forced to close the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Barnoldswick to Barrowford. All six reservoirs built to keep the canal full were just about empty and the closed stretch was used as a temporary reservoir to keep traffic on the lower stretches of the canal moving.

Industries came under threat, with Dobson’s Dairies admitting to extending its pipes to the centre of the canal to extract water – where there was still some depth.

The fire station at Barnoldswick feared what would happen if there was a serious fire and thousands of fish lay dead. By early September, industries across West Craven were beginning to suffer the drought.

Against an average rainfall of 42 inches, Craven had experienced just 17.63 inches by the start of September – the driest year on record.

And, by the middle of the month, despite the use of natural springs, factories were beginning to lay people off.

The chairman of the Craven Water Board issued a strong statement following calls for water restrictions to be toned down.

Mr Waddington said it was nonsense to believe that Barnoldswick and Earby were out of danger and that restrictions must stay in place.

Some had suggested water supplies could be restored, as the rains would soon come – a gamble that Mr Waddington felt was too risky.

“I want to say quite plainly that this would not be a calculated risk, but a pure gamble.

“The water at Elslack is nothing more than a small iron ration for emergencies such as bursts or fires. The supply to the towns is still precarious. Until we have a prolonged period of heavy rain, the water shortage will continue to be grave,” he said.

And he pointed out that, without the emergency pipeline, everyone would have been getting their water from standpipes.

“Only if the board were weather prophets could they calculate the risk. No one can say when heavy rains will come. The board are not prepared to take a gamble which might mean bringing on the standpipes within quite a few weeks, especially as the weather gets colder,” he said.

“It is still as important as ever to save water. The board appeals to all users of water, in their own interests, to take every possible care.”

In October, the rains had still not come and, at a meeting in Keighley, the water board’s engineer-manager issued a stark warning: From October 1, there was 39 days’ supply of water left in the Keighley reservoirs.

At Skipton there was 31 days’ supply and between 12 and 16 days at Giggleswick and Settle, with the cutting-off of water from 7pm to 7am saving 17,000 gallons a day.

An additional supply of up to 30,000 gallons could be obtained from the Giggleswick School private supply – necessitating the laying of 200 yards of pipe from the school to the council pipes.

But finally, at the end of October, the much- needed rains finally came. Water restrictions, first introduced in Barnoldswick and Earby in June, were lifted on October 28.

Three inches of rain fell in the week before and were soaked up by the ground, but two more inches fell overnight one Monday. Supplies at Elslack Reservoir, at one time as low as six million gallons, now stood at 16 million.

Mr Waddington did urge continued efficiency and added that water would continue to be pumped through the emergency pipe line from Skipton’s Whinny Gill Reservoir in order for reserves to be built up as soon as possible.

“We are certainly nowhere near out of danger yet and might find ourselves in the position of having to reimpose more restrictions if we encounter another dry spell,” he said.

For the first time in many months, people in Earby and Barnoldswick were getting a 24-hour supply.

By the end of November, the Craven Herald reported there was water everywhere and plenty for everyone to drink.

The emergency pipe line from Skipton stopped pouring water into Elslack Reservoir and was emptied to prevent it being frozen during the winter and, by December 11, all remaining restrictions were lifted.