Serious pollution incidents by Yorkshire Water almost triple in 2024, the Environment Agency finds

The watchdog said Yorkshire Water was one of three companies, including Thames and Southern Water, to make up 81 per cent of all serious incidents in the year.

Chief executive Nicola Shaw said: “Our performance in this area in 2024 was not good enough.

“We are extremely disappointed as we take our responsibility for the environment very seriously.”

The Environment Agency assesses all pollution incidents from water firms into categories, with category 1 (major) and category 2 (significant) being the most serious, which can have a highly negative impact on wildlife, ecosystems and swimmers.

Last year, across England, 75 category 1 and 2 incidents were recorded, up from 47 serious incidents the previous year.

Yorkshire Water was responsible for 13 of these, the EA said, which is almost a fifth of the total.

That’s a significant increase on the total of five serious pollution incidents in 2023.

It’s only behind Thames Water, which was responsible for 33, and Southern Water, which had 15.

It’s contributed to a situation in which no single river in Yorkshire is considered to be in good overall health, while Ilkley Beach is the most polluted waterway in the country.

At the same time, bills increased by almost a third in April, while the company recently brought in a hosepipe ban after the driest and warmest spring on record.

Overall, the Environment Agency said all pollution incidents increased by 29 per cent with water companies recording 2,801, up from 2,174 in 2023.

It attributed the rise in incidents last year to persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance, and reduced resilience because of the impacts of climate change.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “These figures are disgraceful and are a stark reminder of how years of underinvestment and weak regulation have led to record levels of sewage polluting our rivers.

“In just one year, this new Government has banned unfair bonuses for polluting water bosses, brought in jail sentences for pollution, and secured £104 billion to upgrade crumbling sewage pipes - one of the biggest infrastructure investments in history.

“Next week the Independent Water Commission will recommend changes to strengthen the rules so we can clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”

While Ms Shaw added: “We investigated each serious incident in detail to understand root causes and we are investing in our infrastructure, have employed more people and made significant changes to a range of processes and procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“These internal investigations form a key part of our pollution improvement plan to tackle this complex problem, alongside better use of technology to increase the information we get about our underground network. This information provides early warnings so we can act before pollutions occur.

“Looking ahead, we are investing £8.3 billion over the next five years - an average of £3.2 million every day – to improve service levels, cut pollution, and make Yorkshire’s water infrastructure fit for the future. This reflects our long-term commitment to delivering better outcomes for customers, communities, and the environment across the region.”

The incidents meant that in March, Yorkshire Water agreed to pay regulator Ofwat a £40m fine, and now, as a result, Ms Shaw and chief financial officer Paul Inman will be banned from taking a bonus for the 2024-2025 financial year.

Government figures show that over the last decade Yorkshire Water’s CEO and CFO have taken almost £13m in bonuses, more even than those at under-fire Thames Water.

Yet, in the last seven years, the company’s debt has risen from £4.2bn to £6.8bn, requiring £275m to be spent each year servicing the interest.

That puts Yorkshire Water’s debt to equity ratio at 70 per cent, which Ofwat describes as unstable.