Yorkshire Water slammed as ‘despicable’ and ‘immoral’ as £235k paid to a charity after illegal sewage spill

A sewage activist has slammed Yorkshire Water for being “despicable” and “immoral” after the company donated £235,000 to a charity after it dumped raw sewage illegally during dry weather.

Underwater filmmaker Mark Barrow at Beneath British Waters, who has been filming the extent of sewage in UK rivers, said water companies are “using these precious channels as sewage ducts” and they must be “brought to task once and for all”.

While policy and research manager at environment group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), Henry Swithinbank, said the “illegal discharging should have never happened in the first place.”

Yorkshire Water was found to have breached its environmental permit in August 2015 by the Environment Agency when a storm overflow polluted Hookstone Beck in Harrogate during dry weather.

Water companies are only legally allowed to discharge sewage in extreme weather for example during exceptional rainfall to relieve the pressure from the sewer networks.

Yorkshire Water released the sewage during dry weather, leading to sewage fungus on the bed of the beck.

The company submitted an enforcement undertaking, a voluntary offer made by companies or individuals to make amends for their offending, which was accepted by the EA.

EA area environment manager, Claire Barrow, said Enforcement Undertakings are “effective” in allowing companies “to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.”

She said it allows polluters to “restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving their procedures.”

Mr Barrow criticised Yorkshire Water for its payment, saying it “just does not go far enough.”

He told NationalWorld: “We are talking about a habitat that has taken many many years to establish yet within a blink of an eye it is destroyed overnight.

“It only takes one pollution event to destroy a river habitat for many years to come.”

He said the recovery of plants adapted to living in rivers could take “possibly a couple of years” to recover, and any animals living in the river could take “maybe five years could be ten” and “there is no guarantee it won’t happen again.”

Mr Barrow added that freshwater rivers “holds some of the richest biodiversity on planet earth but water companies are using these precious channels as sewage ducts” and he sees more sewage litter than fish underwater in certain areas in which he films.

He said: “Until we realise that the freshwater habitat is not only vital for wildlife but our very own existence what hope is there.”

Mr Swithinbank told NationalWorld that the payment is “a last-ditch attempt at reparation, eight years in the making” and it “feels like too little, too late.”

He added: “We need them to show us they’re making the huge, essential changes to infrastructure, rather than lining CEO and shareholder pockets. It’s time for complete systemic change, and it’s time for it now."

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said it “welcomes the deterrent effect that Enforcement Undertakings have on polluters” and donations from civil sanctions can help the company “protect special places including nature reserves”.

They added that the company “firmly believes” that “polluters causing damage to the environment must make amends” and these incidents are “unacceptable”.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said the firm “understands” that it has a responsibility to make it right” and as a result donated the money to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

The water firm said the money will be “spent in North Yorkshire to continue to provide excellent land for the people and wildlife of Yorkshire to enjoy.”

It comes after Yorkshire Water apologised over high levels of sewage being discharged into the county’s rivers and seas in May.

Chief executive Nicola Shaw admitted the company had not done enough to tackle storm overflows and said “we should have acted more quickly to change the situation."

She said: “On behalf of Yorkshire Water, I am sorry. I get why people are angry; seeing sewage in our rivers and seas isn’t right.”

Following a new report by the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water has improved its environmental performance, rated three stars this year up from two.

However, despite the rating, the water company was still below target in areas such as self-reporting pollution incidents and the number of serious pollution incidents.