Climate Thoughts with Brian

Despite no future meeting date being set, Yorkshire Water’s CEO states she cannot attend meeting, owing to her ‘availability’.

Ripon City Council recently invited the CEO of Yorkshire Water to a council meeting following levels of pollution in local rivers. The invitation, unanimously agreed on by councillors present, read, ‘This council calls upon Yorkshire Water to cease the practice of discharging sewage into our local rivers. This council believes that local children when water levels permit should be able to paddle safely in our rivers free from pee and poo.

This council invites the Chief Executive to come to a future meeting of the council and explain why Yorkshire Water think this practice is acceptable and outline what measures Yorkshire Water will be implementing to ensure that this practice ceases.’

When asked whether Yorkshire Water would confirm the attendance of Nicola Shaw, the CEO, a spokesperson said:

‘A Yorkshire Water representative will be available for a meeting with Ripon City Council – though at this stage, it is unlikely to be Nicola, based on her availability.’

It appears that the CEO is permanently unavailable to be accountable to councils and customers for the levels of pollution in Yorkshire’s waterways, as no date had been offered for the meeting and therefore Nicola Shaw had declared herself ‘unavailable’ for all future council meetings.

‘Our storm overflows operate more often than we would like’

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson admitted that pollution levels were unacceptable saying: “Our storm overflows operate more often than we, and our customers, would like, and we’re committed to reducing their operation.

“We’re underway with a £1.5bn investment programme to reduce the number and frequency of storm overflow discharges across the region between 2025 and 2030 – this includes a number of projects in Ripon that are currently being investigated. This follows a £180m investment in the couple of years prior.

“We’re seeing the positive results of these investments. In 2025, we reduced the number of discharges into watercourses by 24.5%, following on from a 12% reduction in 2024.”

Mayor of Ripon, Andrew Williams, commented, ‘We are still waiting a formal reply at RCC and are still looking to engage with the CEO over issues directly related to the three local rivers in Ripon, whilst Yorkshire Water may have invested resources elsewhere, we are still experiencing the regular discharge of sewage into the river network even on dry days. This is simply not acceptable and the practice must cease.’

National debate does not offer public referendum

Water Minister, Emma Hardy, commented during the debate in response to the e-petition created by campaigner Ash Smith that, ‘The failures of the past cannot continue.’ She continued, ‘30 years of privatisation has not left the sector in a good state and that’s probably an understatement.’ 

The Minister added, ‘All of the failures that people have mentioned are outrageous’ and noted that ‘It is horrific that we have ended up in this situation.’ She concluded by saying, ‘We will look at all possible solutions for the water industry and we will bring forward reforms to make the water sector work for people and places again.’ 

Clive Lewis, MP, who spoke during the debate argued that ‘For me, it comes down to this: when compounding crises threaten our water supply, do we want corporations and billionaires in control of it?’ Additionally he took to social media to warn ‘If government is to overhaul failing infrastructure, accelerate the green transition and reshape strategically important industries like water and energy, it needs the freedom to act without facing billion-pound claims from foreign investors.’

Rivers of sewage

While debate continues around which reforms would be practical and timely, local river campaigners around the country, continue to hold their breath during every rain shower, for fear that the ‘floodgates will open’ and that rivers will be deluged with pollution and turn into rivers of sewage.