Yorkshire Water has been criticised by the Environment Agency after an ‘unacceptable’ rise in pollution incidents.
The agency has rated Yorkshire Water a two-star company in 2023, a decrease from it’s three-star rating last year.
It had five serious pollution incidents in 2023 compared to three in 2022, moving this metric from amber to red – “which is not acceptable,” the agency said.
It also had 26 total pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer, up from 22 in 2022.
The company self-reported 75% of incidents, below the industry average of 84%.
The Environment Agency expects to see sustained improvements around reducing pollution incidents across Yorkshire and Yorkshire Water’s timeliness in reporting them.
Mike Dugher, area director, for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said: “It is disappointing that Yorkshire Water has dropped from a three-star to a two-star company.
“We know this is due to its performance around pollution incidents and we are clear that this simply must improve.
“Whilst Yorkshire Water have performed well in some areas such as permit compliance, there is no room for any complacency, and we need to see quicker action from companies to turn things around.
“Our expectations on Yorkshire Water remains high; we expect to see them take rapid actions to address their current poor performance including a consistent reduction in the number of pollution incidents and a sustained improvement in the timeliness and quality of self-reporting.
“That is why we will continue our rigorous enforcement activity across Yorkshire ensuring that when companies do commit environmental offences, they are rightly held to account.”
‘Not what we want’
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Being rated as a two-star company in the latest Environmental Performance Assessment is certainly not the outcome we, or our customers, want.
“We have a robust improvement plan in place to reduce pollution incidents in the short and long-term, focusing on using new technology to improve visibility of the underground network so we can take action before issues on the network begin to impact the environment, and making improvements in self-reporting to further improve performance.
“Climate change and extremely wet weather in 2023, the sixth wettest on record, had a significant impact on the number of serious pollution incidents we dealt with in the 12-month period.
“The wet weather has continued into early 2024, posing further challenges for us in reducing pollution incidents to where we want them to be.
“Despite the fall in our overall rating, we are pleased to lead the industry in terms of wastewater treatment works performance and had one of the lowest numbers of total pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer, which is testament to the work of our teams throughout the year to deliver improved environmental performance. “