By Joshua Robinson – 

New figures reveal that Yorkshire Water has recorded an 83% rise in serious water pollution incidents this year. This information was obtained by law firm, Legal Expert via Freedom of Information Requests to the Environment Agency has found a leap in serious water pollution incidents between 2023 and 2024.

The research by Legal Expert can be found by clicking here.

In just 12 months, Yorkshire Water has reported a huge increase in category one (the most serious) pollutants incidents as figures rise from 6 in 2023 to 11 incidents in 2024.

It comes as the firm, along with Thames Water and Northumbrian Water face £168m fines by Ofwat over historic sewage spills.

Yorkshire Water is facing fines of £47m from the industry regulator.

Infographic Copyright: LegalExpert.co.uk

The penalties relate to water firms’ management of their wastewater treatments and sewer systems, which have come under criticism for releasing too much pollution into rivers.

Environment Agency figures obtained by Legal Expert show the majority of England’s nine water and sewage companies have recorded 92% of ‘serious pollution incidents’ this year.

Infographic Copyright: LegalExpert.co.uk

Figures for serious water pollution incidents for Severn Trent and Northumbrian Water are incomplete for 2024.

Thames Water reported serious incidents this year, up from 16 in 2023. Yorkshire Water declared 11, up from 6 the previous year.

A further 8 incidents were logged by Southern Water, down from 16 the year before and Anglian Water had 6 incidents down from 11 in 2023.

The Environment Agency categorises water pollution incidents as serious if they fall into their two highest categories: major (category 1) or significant (category 2). Serious incidents can include: causing fish to die, potentially harming bathers, or forcing a drinking water provider to temporarily stop abstracting water from a river.

In an announcement on August 6th, Ofwat said the firms “failed to ensure that discharges of untreated wastewater from storm overflows occur only in exceptional circumstances, which has resulted in harm to the environment and their customers.”

It also said there was a “strong correlation” between high spill levels and operational issues at their wastewater treatment sites, “which points to these companies not having properly operated and maintained their wastewater treatment works.”

The data obtained by Legal Expert also shows the leading causes and pollutants contributing to ‘serious water pollution incidents’ in England and Wales over the past five years.

Between 2019 and 2024, ‘Containment and Control’ was the leading cause, accounting for 83% of all reported ‘serious incidents’ in the last five years. This could include pipeline failures, meaning hazardous materials are released into the environment. Some 250 incidents have been recorded since 2019. In 79% of these cases, crude sewage was the pollutant, which is raw sewage that has not been treated.

The second most common cause of serious water pollution incidents was ‘Sewer Failure or Overflow.’ Some 113 incidents have been recorded since 2019, accounting for 37%. A further 47 serious incidents have been caused by ‘pipe failure below ground’ and ‘; control measure failure’ was to blame for 22 incidents.

Infographic Copyright: LegalExpert.co.uk

It is possible to claim compensation if water pollution has caused financial loss or illness.

LegalExpert.co.uk has a team of experts at hand for anyone who has concerns about their water. They operate a 24-hour helpline and live chat service which you can access on their website.

To learn more about Legal Expert’s research on the recent rise of serious water pollution incidents, please make sure to visit: https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/personal-injury-compensation/research-statistics-water-pollution-incidents-uk/

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