'Yorkshire Water pipes have flooded our house twice, caused £100,000 of damage and written off our car'
Yorkshire Water is refusing to replace repeatedly bursting water pipes which have twice flooded a couple’s property.
Martin and Kim Butterworth’s property in the village of Holmbridge, near Holmfirth, has been flooded twice due to a burst Yorkshire Water main, with the first incident happening in May 2019 and the second in August 2025.
Despite the incidents causing huge damage and records showing there have been a total of nine burst mains incidents in six years affecting two pipes in the locality, Mr Butterworth said he was told they were not a priority for replacement.
Mr Butterworth told The Yorkshire Post the pipes have caused more than £100,000 worth of damage and written off a car – while the house, which is well above river level, is now classed as a flood risk.
This has been confirmed by Yorkshire Water, which said “unfortunately the section of water main outside Mr Butterworth’s home did not meet the criteria for replacement”, set before a five-year investment programme in such work began in 2025.
The company is spending more than £400m on replacing 1,000km of ageing water pipes across Yorkshire. It said criteria for selecting mains for replacement include factors such as “the number of bursts on the main, the age of the main and loss of supply to customers when the mains burst”.
Mr Butterworth said the criteria for replacing mains does not appear to have flexibility or take into account property damage from previous incidents.
“This could be affecting a lot of other people,” he said.
The water company has now agreed to pay £8,100 for the installation of a specialist drain at the property, following the intervention of The Yorkshire Post.
Mr Butterworth, a retired chartered surveyor, said refusal to replace the main appears to be a false economy. He understands Yorkshire Water paid a six-figure sum to insurers for the damage caused in the 2019 incident, with the company also eventually agreeing to pay in the region of £6,000 towards his uninsured losses.
Last year’s similar incident then wrote off his car, leading to a further insurance claim involving the company.
He said: “In 2019, all the floors had to come out, all the partition walls had to come out, all the built-in furniture had to come out. It was major stuff.
“Last August, it happened again. It was a virtual carbon copy of what happened in 2019, the only difference being it was early in the morning so the car was in the garage as well. The car was a plug-in hybrid and it was a write-off.”
The property has now been ceded to the Flood Re scheme, which is an option open to insurance companies when they consider a property to be a flood risk.
An underwriter at his insurance company Saga said that the Yorkshire Water issues are the “probable cause” of being included in the scheme given the property is otherwise classified as being at the lowest risk category for flooding.
Mr Butterworth said the only logical reason it could be classified as a flood risk is because of the repeatedly bursting pipes. “We’re on the side of a valley well above river level. The whole of Huddersfield would be underwater if we ever got flooded in another way."
His insurance premium this year has gone up from £438 a year to £2,500 a year and Yorkshire Water has reimbursed the difference. But he said the company is yet to commit to offering similar reimbursements in future.
Mr Butterworth is also concerned about the reduction of property value. “We have no intention of moving from here but if anything ever happens to me and I can’t look after Kim, we’d have to sell the house to pay for the care home fees. In terms of the increased insurance premiums for being a flood risk, this is potentially affecting other people without them realising.”
Mr Butterworth said that after it became clear the pipes would not be replaced, he suggested placing an interceptor drain at the top of his drive paid for by the company and was initially advised by Yorkshire Water that it would be considered if he got price quotes.
After spending around £2,000 on architects’ fees, he said he got a plan produced for the work to be done for around £8,000 only to be told by Yorkshire Water that it would be against company policy to pay for a project on a customer’s land.
The couple had the drain installed but Yorkshire Water initially told The Yorkshire Post that because this was a “private undertaking” it would not cover the cost. However, the firm’s position changed and they have now paid the installation cost.
Mr Butterworth said the drain appears to be a “very sensible flood resilience measure” but said it had been a difficult process in getting Yorkshire Water to pay for it.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We understand flooding from a burst water main is distressing for those impacted and we work hard to support customers to rectify any issues caused, either through their own insurance, or through our processes. This also includes covering the increase to Mr Butterworth’s insurance premiums.
“We’re replacing 1,000km of water mains across the region by April 2030. Ahead of this process, we assessed all water mains against a set of criteria, which includes the number of bursts on the main, the age of the main and loss of supply to customers when the mains burst.
“This process outlined the key priorities for our five-year mains replacement programme and unfortunately the section of water main outside Mr Butterworth’s home did not meet the criteria for replacement in this investment period.
“We have agreed to help fund the construction of an interceptor drain to reduce the likelihood of flooding should there be future mains bursts in the area.”