Sunita Somvanshi
Yorkshire Water is spending £835,000 to stop sewage from flowing into the River Seven. The money will fix a problem in Marton where heavy rain forces untreated water into the river. Workers are putting in new pipes that will carry rainwater away from homes and straight to natural waterways, instead of mixing with sewage.
“We’re working hard to protect our environment,” says Lumi Ajayi, who manages the project at Yorkshire Water. The company expects these changes will cut down harmful spills by up to 15%. They’re also giving homes special water containers, called water butts, to catch rain before it reaches the sewers.
This work comes after Yorkshire Water got in trouble last year. They were fined £47 million because their systems were releasing untreated sewage into rivers for about seven hours every day in 2023. Almost half of their overflow points weren’t following the rules.
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Now they’re spending money to fix these problems across Yorkshire. In Northallerton, £445,000 is going toward fixing 600 meters of sewer pipes. This will stop groundwater from leaking in and reduce sewage spills by 63%. In Sheffield, they’re spending £1.4 million to upgrade equipment that will cut down river pollution by 48%.
All this is part of Yorkshire Water’s bigger plan. They’re putting £180 million into improvements by April 2025. After that, they’ll spend another £1.5 billion between 2025 and 2030. Around 2,200 overflow points to look after, they’re focusing first on the ones that cause the most problems.
These changes mean cleaner rivers and healthier water environments. When heavy rain comes, less sewage will end up in local waterways. This helps protect the river’s ecosystem and natural environment.
The work in Marton started this month and should finish in March. Peter Duffy Ltd, the company doing the construction, is putting in about 200 meters of new pipes. They’re also sealing old sewer pipes to stop rainwater from getting in where it shouldn’t.
