Sewage dumped in York’s rivers for over 11,000 hours last year

Local Lib Dem councillors have hit out at new data that shows that in 2022 alone water companies dumped raw sewage 2,023 times into the rivers in York, for a total of 11,912 hours, according to data from the River’s Trust.

Whilst York is well known as the home of its two rivers, the Foss and the Ouse, these waterways have been revealed to be flooded with harmful pollutants, including raw sewage discharges from water treatment operator Yorkshire Water.

Water companies are only allowed to dump raw sewage in the most extreme of circumstances and this year’s data is said to be significantly lower due to last year’s dry weather.

Yorkshire Water’s latest annual report shows that its operating profit grew to £242.3m (from £241.4m in 2021) with revenue increasing year on year by £17.4m to £1,118.5m. Local councillors are calling on a new sewage tax to be introduced on water company profits to fund local efforts to improve water quality.

New legislation in parliament earlier this year set a target of an 80% reduction in phosphates in rivers by 2038. Councillors have branded this as a pathetic target, which allows water companies to get away with a staggering 15 more years of shameful sewage dumping.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent action to clean up the city’s rivers, working with Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency to address sewage discharges and water quality data monitoring, ban water company exec bonuses to for any firm found to breach permits and unlock necessary funding, regulatory powers and policy changes to restore the health of York’s rivers.

Councillor Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change, commented:

“York’s rivers are the lifeblood of our local ecosystem and natural beauty, yet for decades, water companies have been allowed to mistreat them and get away with it.

“Again and again the Conservative government has failed to take action to tackle this outrageous sewage dumping, instead letting water companies to get away with spilling sewage into our waterways whilst collecting bonuses.

“Whilst we have tried to work with Yorkshire Water to address sewage dumping, our pleas have effectively been ignored, with the water company claiming that nothing can be done to stop or at least minimise the use of the local storm drains that dump sewage into the Ouse and the Foss until 2030.

“Our local efforts continue to also be scuppered by Conservative MPs, who continue to vote to allow water companies to get away with polluting our waterways for years to come.

“It’s time for the Government and Yorkshire Water to clean up their act and pay their fair share to clean up York’s rivers!”