United Utilities is urging its customers to conserve water – the company said it needs people to keep taking care with their water usage, because reservoir levels are still lower than they should be.United Utilities normally expects its reservoirs to be around 80% full at this time of year. However, currently in north and west Cumbria they are approximately 68.2% full, at Haweswater and Thirlmere levels are approximately 61.4%, in the Pennines reservoirs levels are 65.4% and in North Wales they are 85.9%United Utilities has attributed the current low levels to the driest January to May period since rainfall records began 74 years ago. The company said it was doing everything it could to conserve water. United Utilities is now following its drought plan which at this stage involves moving water around the integrated network to balance supplies across the region. The company is now urging customers to think about their water usage and use water wisely via press adverts and a radio campaign reminding people about conserving water.John Sanders, United Utilities' Water Resource & Leakage Manager, said:"If the drier than average weather continues this summer we will need to consider drought permit applications to temporarily allow increased abstraction of water from lakes and rivers. Similarly, we can't rule out the prospect of a hosepipe ban - it's 14 years since we last had one in the North West."