Yorkshire Water has an eye on the future as it is set to deliver £8.3bn investment programme
Yorkshire Water has announced an £8.3bn investment in the county over the next five years, as it drives towards improving performance and meeting the expectations of customers. To help deliver the programme, it is recruiting the next generation of talent with a passion for the local area.
Split across wastewater, clean water and environmental outputs, East Yorkshire is set to receive a significant share of the new spending programme.
Investing in East Yorkshire
During 2025, over 19.7km of clean water mains will be replaced in East Yorkshire with more durable and flexible plastic piping, and another 18.9km will be replaced next year. This forms part of the £406m investment in making the county’s water network more reliable – with fewer bursts, leaks and loss of supply for customers.
Within the wastewater network, Yorkshire Water will spend £105m in Bridlington and Rawcliffe to improve the performance of its storm overflows and reduce the volume and frequency of wastewater discharges into local watercourses, helping them to thrive.
The coast is, rightfully, incredibly important to all of us in Yorkshire – and more than £300m has been earmarked to improve the quality of the water at our region’s bathing waters.
Partnering up
Working in partnership is vital to deliver results and Living with Water, a partnership between Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency and University of Hull, has a mission to build understanding across Hull and the East Riding about the opportunities and threats water brings to the region – the second biggest flood risk area in the UK outside of London.
The partnership is implementing a 25-year Blue/Green plan to manage surface water flooding using Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) such as aqua greens, ponds and swales, together with nature-based infrastructure that is adaptable and sustainable.
This has been adopted in large scale schemes across Rosemead Street, east Hull, Derringham in west Hull, Bilton and at Bilton Community Primary School. The next phase will see this large-scale adoption of the Blue/Green plan build further flood resilience, develop innovative water management systems and highlight the region as a great place to live and work.
Expanding the talent pool
With a huge programme of infrastructure, environmental and partnership work ahead, Yorkshire Water is looking at how it can attract new people and skills from the local area to join the business.
We are responsible for providing a critical service to 5.4 million customers in Yorkshire, seven per cent of which live in East Riding. We think it’s incredibly important that we have colleagues on board who are passionate about an area and its community, and who have a strong understanding of the area’s challenges and opportunities.
An important strand of the Living with Water project is engagement with schools and young people, to help them understand why being flood resilience matters, and why it can be an exciting future career path.
Beyond Living with Water, Yorkshire Water has stepped up its search for the next generation of people looking for STEM and green careers. Just this year, it recruited its largest ever cohort of apprentices, and is recruiting additional resources to help identify and bring talent on board – with an eye on East Yorkshire’s young adults.
Ann added: “There’s so much activity planned in East Yorkshire over the next five years and beyond, and young people can play an important part in that – we’re proud to be supporting the Yorkshire Post Apprentice Awards this year, helping us to nurture the next generation of talent.
“While we’ve just brought this year’s apprentices into the business, we’ll soon be getting out and about to encourage people to consider us as a future employer and suggest that anyone considering a career in blue/green infrastructure or in the water industry more broadly keeps an eye out for opportunities.”
Find out more
To find out more about apprenticeships and careers with Yorkshire Water, click here.