Residents forced to deal with 'open sewage pipes' due to 'crumbling water infrastructure’ says Yorkshire MP

Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has raised the plight of residents forced to deal with “disgusting incidents” because of a “crumbling water infrastructure”.

She told the House of Commons: “Residents in Grosmont in my constituency have had a van parked in the street processing raw sewage, with a pipe left open in the street, for months between the processing of the sewage and the holding tank being emptied.

“[Do you] agree that disgusting incidents such as these illustrate our crumbling water infrastructure and the importance of the legislation, which will ringfence funding for vital infrastructure?”

The Labour Member of Parliament was speaking in a debate on legislation for additional controls on the water industry on Tuesday, January 28.

Proposed measures would see the creation of a Water Restoration Fund into which penalties imposed on water companies for specified offences would be paid.

The fund could then be used to finance projects that would improve the quality of the freshwater environment in England.

Emma Hardy, the Minister for Water and Flooding, replied that Ms Hume had raised a “perfect example of the crumbling infrastructure that we have inherited”.

It comes as recent samples of water at Scarborough’s North Bay and Robin Hood’s Bay showed the standard had dropped from “good” to “sufficient”, according to the Environment Agency (EA).

Scarborough’s South Bay retained the lowest rating of “poor”, while Sandsend, Whitby and Cayton Bay kept their “excellent” ratings.

Mike Dugher, deputy director for the EA in Yorkshire, said an action plan was in place to improve water quality in areas where it was poor.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate to address the urgent issue of poor water quality in the UK’s rivers, lakes, and seas earlier this month, Ms Hume backed the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill “which will require independent monitoring and hit polluters such as Yorkshire Water where it hurts—in their bank balance”.

Yorkshire Water has said that tackling discharges from storm overflows “is a priority for us”.

A spokesperson added: “We currently have projects underway at three overflows along the river Esk, as part of our £180m commitment to reducing discharges across the region by April this year, and we will be investing a further £1.5bn into storm overflows over the next five years, including £165m earmarked for coastal investment.

“We are currently busy planning this programme of investment so that we can hit the ground running in April when the regulatory delivery period begins.”