Water boss declines bonus following criticism

Nicola Shaw, pictured here in 2010, says she understands the public's "strength of feeling" on sewage discharges into rivers

The boss of Yorkshire Water has given up her bonus this year following public anger over sewage pollution in the county's rivers.

Chief executive Nicola Shaw, who joined the firm in May 2022, said she understood the "strength of feeling" and had refused her first bonus since arriving at the company.

In February 2023, Environment Agency data revealed three of the worst rivers for raw sewage discharge in England and Wales were in Yorkshire.

Annual reports show she could have received between £600,000 and £800,000 if the company met performance targets for the year.

The River Ouse, pictured here in York, is one of the rivers the firm wants to focus on

According to the firm's annual reports, the company paid out £878,000 in bonuses to directors last year.

In a statement, Ms Shaw said "I understand the strength of feeling about the issues linked to river health which is why I've decided that this year I won't be accepting a bonus.

"This is the right thing to do and I'm committed to improving Yorkshire Water's performance."

The firm said its turnaround plan was already under way with their Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) reaching three stars out of four in the last annual review.

Ms Shaw continued: "We are tunnelling a huge new sewer for Ilkley, and we've started an additional £180m programme of work for our biggest environmental project since privatisation."

'Care and importance'

The firm has previously said its plan to reduce river discharges would focus on the River Aire, Calder and Ouse.

Campaign group Top of the Poops found that in 2021 raw sewage was pumped directly into them on more than 10,000 occasions.

In March 2023 a House of Lords committee said that water bosses should not receive bonuses while their companies were missing targets and polluting the environment.

It said "a slurry of under-investment, insufficient government strategy, and inadequate coordination has meant water is not being treated with the care and importance it deserves."

The government has said it was forcing water companies to invest £56m in updating its infrastructure, much of which is decades old.