Increase in pollution incidents brings disgrace to Yorkshire Water again
Once again Yorkshire Water brings disgrace to itself with a rise in the number of pollution incidents. If the company was wondering why it’s evoking such ire amongst the public then it need only look at the latest figures.
Yorkshire Water was responsible for 260 pollution incidents in 12 months. The figure, revealed in the company’s newly-published results for the 2025/26 financial year, represents a 72 per cent increase on the 151 incidents recorded in the 12 months prior.
There is no denying that the current management team cannot be expected to turn things around overnight. But goodwill is in short supply and these figures are clearly trending in the wrong direction.
Yorkshire Water has been fined £88.8m by Ofwat for failing to hit various outcome delivery targets, which include pollution incidents – 71 per cent above the £51.9m levied in the previous year.
Pollution has become such a common occurrence that parts of the public have become almost apathetic to the abject failure of water companies.
Its CEO revealed at the weekend that the firm would be downgraded to a ‘one-star’ rating for its environmental performance.
Nicola Shaw says the company expects pollution incident numbers to “grow again in 2027”, due in part to changes in reporting requirements.
Being upfront is to be welcomed but that cannot be accompanied by a continued destruction of the environment. Expectations haven’t changed, they’ve been adjusted to what the public rightly expects of water companies.
Yorkshire Water may have accepted the gauntlet thrown down by this newspaper to become an exemplar in the water industry, it must also bear in mind that the clock is ticking. Continued failure not only tarnishes the company’s already beleaguered reputation but also besmirches Yorkshire’s name.