'Our rivers are centre stage in a sewage scandal': Yorkshire groups to join thousands marching for water reforms

Organisers have described the march as a “nationwide demand for clean water”, which will call for more action from the Government against water companies who breach environmental policies.

Marina Gibson, who runs The Northern Fishing School in Ripon, is set to join the march. She said: “As a devoted fly-fishing enthusiast and someone who treasures the natural beauty of our waterways, it is alarming to see the state of pollution in the UK’s rivers and lakes.

“Our government must step up and take urgent, decisive action to stop the contamination of these vital ecosystems.”

The move comes after water services regulation body OFWAT announced in August that it was proposing penalties totalling £168m against Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and Northumbrian Water for “failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks”.

The Government last week announced a new commission which will look at strengthening water industry regulation, and aim to drive investment into the sector to upgrade its infrastructure.

In September, the Government also announced the Water Special Measures Bill, which will allow the Environment Agency to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s March, chair and founder of River Action, Charles Watson, said: “Nowhere in the UK has suffered as much from pollution than the beautiful rivers of Yorkshire.

“Iconic water courses such as the Wharfe, The Aire, the Ure, the Swale and the Derwent have suffered from repeated abuse from raw sewage dumping by Yorkshire Water. Run off from intensive agriculture has been equally problematic in some areas of the county as well. It is time to show our government that enough is enough.”

Kirsty Tucker, a march attendee and community leader of campaign group Plastic Free North West Leeds, added: "Our rivers are centre stage in a sewage scandal. I have been campaigning with Plastic Free North West Leeds for many years due to the alarming volume of raw sewage discharges into the river Aire and nothing has changed or improved for years.”

An investigation earlier this year by The Yorkshire Post found that Yorkshire Water had breached its Environment Agency permits 259 times over the past two years. Many of these permit breaches involved discharging sewage materials outside allotted permits, which allow for discharges during storm events.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “Last year we apologised for not acting quickly enough to solve the complex issue of storm discharges and announced we’re investing £180m by April 2025 to reduce their use and improve water quality in our region's rivers. This is part of the £800m we’re investing in our infrastructure across the region this year.

“We know there is more to do and our plans for 2025-2030 for our largest environment investment to date of £8.2n includes £1.3bn to tackle storm overflows, subject to Ofwat approval.

“Our region is one of the largest land masses of UK utilities, and we have a disproportionate number of storm overflows. Yorkshire Water was one of the first UK water companies to switch on its EDM map, which shows storm discharges in real time. It allows us to see where action needs to be taken as well as giving customers up to date information about their local waterways."

The company recently launched a River Health team, which will work with action groups across Yorkshire to investigate long-standing local concerns and support citizen science projects.