Yorkshire Water’s government rating has been downgraded to one star out of four for its environmental performance last year, with its sewage pollution blamed. The impact is hitting coastal communities particularly hard, with councillors worried the rating will damage the region’s tourism industry.
A new report by the Environment Agency (EA) now labels Yorkshire Water as a ‘poorly performing company’. In 2023 and 2024, Yorkshire Water was graded as two star. In 2022, it had three stars – so its performance is getting steadily worse.
The government report also revealed the company has had 13 serious incidents involving sewage in the last year. Two prosecutions against Yorkshire Water in 2025 led to fines of £1,215,000. Both resulted from pollution incidents. The company has said it has “already changed the way we are tackling pollution”.
The record at Yorkshire Water is now ‘a matter of urgency’ as it is terrible for coastal businesses, according to Cllr Denise Howard (Reform UK – East Wolds and Coastal ward). “The company’s pollution performance is seriously lacking and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” she said.
“Bridlington beaches have been hit by a series of pollution alerts that are bad for residents, bad for business and bad for tourists. Serious investment is needed – but no doubt the consumer will be picking up the tab.”
Councillors inland are also extremely concerned about the ongoing issues with water quality around the region. Cllr Phil Redshaw (Liberal Democrat – Cottingham North) has been campaigning for improvements to water quality for some time and said: “Yorkshire Water’s environmental record is simply not good enough. Thirteen serious pollution incidents and failures to deliver key environmental schemes on time demonstrate a company that has fallen short of the standards the public expects.
“Yorkshire’s rivers deserve better, and Yorkshire Water must now prove through actions – not promises – that it can be trusted to protect our environment.”
‘The latest in a catalogue of errors’
A huge overhaul of water companies is urgently needed, according to Hull Liberal Democrat spokesperson Cllr Jack Haines. He said: “Time after time, Yorkshire Water and their bosses have let the people of Hull down. This one-star rating is just the latest in a catalogue of failures from them.
“From roadworks to water leaks, sewage to soaring bills, it’s no wonder people are fed up with the service they are getting from their water companies, not just here but across the country.
“The Liberal Democrats are calling for an overhaul of our water companies. We want to see real change to fix the broken system, including a new regulator, turning companies into public benefit corporations and banning bosses’ bonuses once and for all.”
Water nationalisation was debated at the national Labour Party conference earlier this year. Cllr Denise Thompson (Labour – Ings ward) explained she has previously spoken in council debates on the matter.
“Sadly it isn’t surprising that Yorkshire Water have been given this woeful rating. We all know what a shocking state they’ve left our rivers, drains and beaches in,” she explained.
“I really welcome Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to greater public control of water, but I think public control also needs to mean public ownership. I hope that when the ban on public ownership of water companies is lifted, as the government has announced, Yorkshire Water is one of the first companies to be taken into public hands.”
Yorkshire Water claim a ‘greater operational focus on preventing incidents’
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson admitted the company needs to reduce pollution incidents and improve the reliability of its environmental performance.
“We have already changed the way we are tackling pollution, with greater operational focus on preventing incidents, improving the health of our assets, and identifying problems earlier,” the spokesperson said.
“Alongside those operational changes, we are delivering Yorkshire’s largest environmental investment programme, which will bring improvements in the long-term. We’re moving at pace, with infrastructure improvements already completed at almost 300 locations in the past six months. Looking forward, we have plans to transform Scarborough’s wastewater network and upgrade more than 450 storm overflows by 2030,” the spokesperson continued.
“There is much more to do, and we will be open about where we are making progress and where we are not. The test for us isn’t simply how much we spend. It is whether customers and the environment see better results.”
The natural world – rivers and beaches in particular – are in desperate need of ‘compassion’, and the damning report should act as a wake-up call for quicker action, according to Cllr Andy Walker (Independent – Bridlington South).
“The really sad thing about this dreadful downgrading is that it is not a shock to anyone,” he said.
“Right across Yorkshire, our rivers, rare chalk streams and beaches are in desperate need of repair, compassion and understanding and, deep down, we all know that the great privatisation experiment has failed – not just us humans but all life forms, all relying on clean water. Until that responsibility is back in public ownership, we can ask and encourage, we can influence, assess and report – but we cannot insist. That needs to change and the sooner the better.”
By: Paul Drury-Bradey, LDRS
