Yorkshire Water to pay out £2.35m after seven pollution incidents affecting local rivers
The cash is set to go to environmental charities
Yorkshire Water has been handed a £2.35m penalty after a series of pollution incidents involving wastewater and sewage polluting local waterways.
The Environment Agency took enforcement action after seven different incidents between 2019 and 2023, including on the rivers Ure, Dearne, Aire, and Calder.
The penalty forms part of some £8.5 million paid by UK water companies into environmental restoration projects as part of a crackdown on pollution and inadequate performance this year.
The funds will benefit environmental charities, going towards projects such as nature reserves, wetland habitat creation, and flood plain restoration.
Financial contributions by Yorkshire Water include:
£500,000 to Don Catchment Rivers Trust for issues at Lundwood Wastewater Treatment Works, Barnsley, impacting the River Dearne.
£500,000 to Don Catchment Rivers Trust for a sewage discharge from a broken main at Stainforth Huddle Grounds, Doncaster.
£350,000 to Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust for pollution at Leyburn Sewage Treatment Works into the River Ure.
£300,000 to Aire Rivers Trust for incidents impacting the River Aire from Knostrop Wastewater Treatment Works in Leeds.
£300,000 to be split between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (£150,000) and Calder and Colne Rivers Trust (£150,000) for pollution affecting the River Calder in Sowerby Bridge.
£250,000 to Calder and Colne Rivers Trust for a raw sewage leak from a collapsed sewer in Kirklees.
£150,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for an issue at Laithes Lane, Barnsley.
Yorkshire Water has also agreed to infrastructure repairs and upgrades, installation of alarms and telemetry systems, ecological surveys, and operational updates to stop anything similar happening again.
Jacqui Tootill, Enviroment Agency Water Industry Regulation Manager in Yorkshire, said:
“While we continue to prosecute and sanction the most serious offences, Enforcement Undertakings allow companies to put right what went wrong and channel money directly into the environment."
"This £2.35 million will be invested back into the local area to enhance the environment, delivering real benefits for people and wildlife.
"We are continuing to drive meaningful improvements in water company performance, hold persistent offenders to account and ultimately create a cleaner water environment."