Yorkshire rivers among worst for sewage discharge, figures show

Three of the worst rivers for raw sewage discharge in England and Wales are in Yorkshire, according to Environment Agency (EA) figures.

Campaign group Top of the Poops analysed figures for the amount of sewage spilled into rivers.

The Aire, the Calder and the Ouse all featured in the top 10, with Yorkshire Water pumping sewage directly into them on more than 10,000 occasions in 2021.

The company said it had announced a £180m programme to tackle the issue.

According to the figures, in 2021 raw sewage was pumped into the Calder on 4,055 occasions, the Aire 4,085 and the Ouse 2,099 times.

Prior to the UK leaving the European Union, it was signed up to the Water Framework Directive, which required member states to have good chemical and ecological status in their waterways by 2027.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insists that date remains.

However, there is an exemption to 2063 relating to what it said were a small number of chemicals found in rivers due to how long it would take them to dissipate.

On Christmas Eve 2022, 256 MPs voted against a Lords amendment to the Environment Act.

It would have placed a legal duty on water companies to make improvements in their sewerage systems and demonstrate improvements.

Conservative MP Robbie Moore was one of those who opposed the amendment, saying it was impractical and expensive to implement.

The River Aire flows through his Keighley constituency. Yorkshire Water discharged sewage into it and other rivers in the seat on more than 2,000 occasions in 2021.

Mr Moore said it was "not a good situation to be in".

"We all want to get to a position where we are having really good water quality in our river system," he said.

Despite opposing the amendment, he supported the Act.

"I want to see water companies do much more, but the Environment Act is the tool that puts pressure on those companies."

Becky Maltby, from Ilkley Clean River Group, said the public were "just waking up" to the issue of pollution.

"Every river in this country is an open sewer," she said.

"A friend of mine had diarrhoea and vomiting having been in the river, we've had children in hospital on drips."

She said the public had to demand water companies stopped putting profits ahead of tackling the issue.

Yorkshire Water said its £180m programme to reduce discharges would have a particular focus on the Aire, Calder and Ouse.

"Indicative numbers for 2022 show the 250 overflows across the Rivers Aire, Calder and Ouse operated for 1.9% of the year, this was 37% less time than in 2021."

It said it had improved monitoring, but said replumbing the county's drainage and wastewater network would take time and significant investment.

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