Yorkshire Water should pay to clear up its own mess - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Hilary Plews, Save Our Swale, Richmond.

On 11/7/24 Ofwat proposed that by 2029/30 Yorkshire Water customers' bills will rise by £107 before inflation. This is the second highest increase out of all the English water companies, higher even than that proposed for ailing Thames Water.

It seems strange that such an increase to hard-pressed customers' bills should be proposed when Ofwat itself considers that '...Yorkshire Water's performance lags behind most other companies...'

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This increase in customers' bills is so that Yorkshire Water can '...deliver cleaner rivers and seas, and better services for customers.' One wonders what we have been paying Yorkshire Water to do since it was privatised in 1989, if not precisely that? Was it not logical for us consumers to assume the sewerage charges set out in our bills were for Yorkshire Water to remove and safely dispose of the sewage from our homes? Silly old us.

A general view across the River Swale in the market town of Richmond. PIC: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA general view across the River Swale in the market town of Richmond. PIC: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
A general view across the River Swale in the market town of Richmond. PIC: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Instead, Yorkshire Water has tipped 1,791 hours of raw sewage into the Swale at Richmond in 2023. There is a similar tragic story for every river in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Water will say in its defence that 2023 was very wet. But they still managed to dump 1,113 hours of raw sewage into the Swale at Richmond in 2022 which was a drought year.

One wonders if anyone has told Yorkshire Water that dry dumping is illegal, especially as the Supreme Court has recently implied that individuals can sue water companies? (The Manchester Ship Canal Co Ltd v United Utilities Water Ltd)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Why should any Yorkshire Water customer pay again for what we have already paid for in our sewerage charges? Just think how Yorkshire Water's sewage infrastructure could have been transformed if even a small proportion of the £6.7bn they have paid to their shareholders since 1989 had been used to do what they charge us for.

Feargal Sharkey told Richmond residents when he visited before the election that we are being scammed by our water companies. If you agree, why not take a look at http://www.boycottwaterbills.com for action you can take to stop Yorkshire Water polluting our rivers for profit.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice