Yorkshire Water makes record £1m charities donation over pollution

Nearly 1,500 fish were killed and 1.5 miles of watercourse was affected by the pollution at Hookstone Beck, the EA says

A water company has made a "record" £1m payment to environmental and wildlife charities after illegally pumping sewage into a stream.

Yorkshire Water breached its permit in 2016 when it polluted Hookstone Beck in Harrogate, killing nearly 1,500 fish, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

A wood plank in the sewer network caused the incident, the firm said.

Yorkshire Water subsequently made a voluntary offer to make amends by donating £1m to charities.

According to the EA, £500,000 has been paid to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and £500,000 to Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust.

The payment was the largest ever voluntary offer accepted by the EA, it said.

'Acted quickly'

Fish were killed and water quality was affected for 1.5 miles (2.5km) downstream as a result of the pollution in Hookstone Beck on 31 August 2016, according to the agency.

It said Yorkshire Water had an environmental permit allowing it to discharge into the beck when the storm sewage facility was full due to rainfall or snow melt.

However, it breached its permit with an unauthorised sewage discharge, which the firm blamed on a plank of wood.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "We acted quickly to stop the pollution but understand incidents of this kind are distressing.

"When things go wrong, we understand we have a responsibility to make it right and to prevent these things from happening at all."

Yorkshire Water's £1m payment to charities was a "record", according to Water Minister Robbie Moore

The company added that it was "committed to protecting the environment" and said it had halved the number of pollution incidents over the last five years.

In addition to the £1m payment, Yorkshire Water had also completed a £1.85m sewer network upgrade in the area as part of its enforcement terms, the EA confirmed.

Yorkshire Water's spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, it has taken seven years to reach an agreement with the Environment Agency to donate funds to local wildlife charities that will directly benefit Yorkshire.

"But we are pleased to have finally provided funds to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust."

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust would use the donation in North Yorkshire for new and improved homes for wildlife, mainly on its wetland reserves, the EA said.

Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust would use the payment to develop a programme of improvements along the River Nidd.

'Record penalty'

The £1m payment to charities follows Yorkshire Water agreeing earlier this year to pay £235,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust after illegally pumping sewage into the same beck in August 2015.

A new government plan to clean up waters and ensure a plentiful supply for the future was set out in April.

Water Minister Robbie Moore said stronger regulations and tougher enforcement would be introduced across the water sector.

Mr Moore, the Conservative MP for Keighley, said: "This record penalty paid by Yorkshire Water demonstrates that those who damage our natural environment will be held to account.

"Our plan includes scrapping the cap on civil penalties by introducing unlimited fines and significantly broadening their scope to target a much wider range of offences - from breaches of storm overflow permits to the reckless disposal of hazardous waste."