Bradford Beck: Yorkshire Water fined £1.6m for sewage pollution

An investigation found water quality looked different downstream of the Yorkshire Water tank on George Street

Yorkshire Water has been fined more than £1.6m for repeatedly polluting a waterway in Bradford with sewage.

The company's storage tank in George Street, Bradford, was full of sewage for up to eight months in 2018, leading to 25 spills into Bradford Beck.

At Leeds Magistrates' Court, the firm pleaded guilty to the discharges and to breaching its environmental permit.

Yorkshire Water apologised and said it had since been working to "improve the health" of the affected beck.

The Environment Agency (EA) said it received reports of sewage pollution in Bradford Beck in August 2018.

An investigation revealed one or both of the two pumps which emptied the tank were not working at various times between August 2017 and September 2018.

The Environment Agency concluded the tank was full between January and August 2018, with data showing it had spilled 25 times in that period.

Yorkshire Water was aware the storm pumps were out of action and of the fact the tank was full, the EA said.

However, it had failed to fix the pumps as soon as was practical, or to provide a stand-by pump, or to maintain its pumps and to maintain the overflow.

Information from local residents suggested there was an impact on wildlife immediately afterwards, the EA added.

Yorkshire Water has apologised for the sewage discharges into Bradford Beck and said improvements have been made

The agency subsequently brought a prosecution against Yorkshire Water, which found the company failed to maintain its pumping equipment at the George Street tank and did not ensure it was operating efficiently.

District Judge Richard Kitson found that Yorkshire Water was "reckless" in its offending due to the fact the firm was taking some steps to deal with the issue, but not with sufficient urgency.

Ben Hocking, environment manager for the EA, said: "Water companies are aware their activities have the potential to cause serious environmental impacts and they have a legal duty to avoid pollution."

The EA was "committed to holding water companies to account", Mr Hocking added.

"We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously."

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said the incidents "should not have occurred" and changes had since been made to make sure it would not happen again.

He said: "We take our commitment to the environment seriously and apologise for the issues at Bradford Beck in 2018.

"Our pollution performance has significantly improved since 2018, and we're investing over £790m over the next few years to improve Yorkshire's watercourses."

The firm had worked with the Friends of Bradford Beck to reduce pollution, he added.

At the sentencing on Monday, Yorkshire Water was ordered to pay a £1,600,750 fine, £22,112.79 in costs and a £170 victim surcharge.