Yorkshire Water set to be given lowest rating by the Environment Agency
Regulator to hand Yorkshire Water downgrade to lowest possible environmental rating
Yorkshire Water has had its performance downgraded to a one-star rating, the lowest a water provider can be given, by the Environment Agency.
The regulator formally downgraded the business from two stars out of four to one for its impact on the environment.
Figures claim that since the start of this year, Yorkshire Water has been responsible for just under 188,000 hours of pollution into Leeds’ rivers, which is the equivalent of approximately 22 years.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “Our environmental performance last year was not good enough and we understand that customers will be disappointed by this result.
“In particular, we need to reduce pollution incidents and improve the reliability of our environmental performance.”
This morning, the Environment Agency released the first joint report by regulators into the industry’s performance as a whole, signalling a more collaborative approach to solving the wider issues faced across the sector.
Chief Executive at the Environment Agency, Philip Duffy, said: “We are stepping up inspections and enforcement and will use our powers to hold water companies to account and drive the improvements people and the environment deserve.”
The Yorkshire Water statement added: “Alongside operational changes, we are delivering Yorkshire's largest environmental investment programme.
“We're moving at pace, with infrastructure improvements already completed at almost 300 locations in the past six months.”