Channel 4 has just released the docudrama series Dirty Business, which highlights the real-life scandal of raw sewage dumping in our UK waters and the corporate scandal of our water companies profiteering for pollution. The series focuses on incidents in Oxfordshire and Devon – but we are experiencing our own ‘dirty business’ here in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire’s filthy water
In 2024 there were 68,164 sewage spills in Yorkshire. Added together, they went on for over 430 hours, or two and a half weeks, ranking Yorkshire Water as the third worst raw sewage polluter in the country. But that didn’t stop the company paying over £84mn in dividends to shareholders in 2023–2024. Across the UK, water companies have extracted over £70bn in dividends since privatisation, money that was desperately needed to invest in the country’s water and sewage infrastructure.
Despite government moves to ban bonuses for failing water companies, loopholes remain. Yorkshire Water’s CEO, Nicola Shaw, received £1.3mn in additional payments over the last two years – even as the company was downgraded by the Environment Agency from three to two stars and labelled as ‘lagging behind’ by Ofwat.
Campaigners are witnessing the human health impact too. In the past five years, the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has logged 176 reports of sickness linked to people entering Yorkshire rivers and the sea off the county’s coast. Our rivers and seas really are dirty business.
Pollution in plain sight
Local campaign groups, including Plastic Free North West Leeds, frequently receive footage from concerned residents capturing pollution incidents. On 10 February 2026, a broken manhole in the woodland near Seven Arches aqueduct leaked sewage into Adel Beck. Yorkshire Water repaired the fault, but witnesses later reported it leaking again.
In a statement about the incident, Yorkshire Water said: “The investigation found it was simply volume of water due to the extreme wet weather, testing showed no impact to water course and no impact to how the network was operating”.
This account contradicts eyewitness video showing sanitary products and wipes visibly flowing into the beck.
Storm overflow data vs. reality
Yorkshire water publishes data on its Storm Overflow Map – it is highly recommended to review this map before entering local rivers and seas. Even so, some of Yorkshire’s most popular swimming spots – such as the Nidd at the Lido in Knaresborough and the Wharfe at Cromwell in Ilkley – have recently been classified as ‘poor’ due to bacterial contamination linked to raw sewage.
Campaigners across the region also report an alarming mismatch between the ‘live’ sewage map and real‑time observations. Footage taken at Wetherby sewage treatment works shows raw sewage discharging into the River Wharfe even when the official map shows no releases.
It’s clear that greater transparency from Yorkshire Water and all water companies is required.
When Yorkshire Water was approached for comment on this topic, it stated:
“…storm overflow discharges are not what we or our customers want to see, and we’re working hard to reduce the frequency and duration of them. Last year, we completed £180m investment into reducing the operation of our storm overflows, which helped to reduce discharges by 12% in 2024. There is much more to do, and we’re now underway with a £1.5bn programme to reduce their operation across the entire region. We have a number of projects on site in Leeds, Sheffield, and Barnsley, and over 450 projects in the design and planning stages – all to be delivered by 2030.”
While investment is welcome, it comes at a price. In December 2024, Ofwat – the regulator of water companies in England and Wales – announced that companies will be allowed to increase their bills by 36% by 2030, taking the average annual bill to around £600. This will impact Yorkshire customers and families hard whilst shareholders continue to profit.
Years of campaigning, little change
I have been campaigning with Plastic Free North West Leeds for over six years due to the relentless sewage pollution in the River Aire. Despite public pressure, parliamentary debates and national media coverage, Yorkshire’s waterways remain chronically polluted and dangerously under‑protected.
The solution is clear. We need transformational reform that ends pollution for profit and establishes a transparent, accountable water system that prioritises public health and value for customer money, and delivers healthy coastlines, rivers and lakes.
What can you do?
We need to continue the momentum and keep raising awareness of this sewage scandal. To help, you can join your local clean water campaign group, such as Plastic Free North West Leeds or Ilkley Clean River Group, for future events or campaigns. To find your local group, Plastic Free Communities has an interactive map, and Surfers Against Sewage campaigns for clean water both inland and along the coast.
We also suggest you write to your MP and demand action on sewage pollution. Only with sustained public pressure can we force a long‑overdue clean‑up of Yorkshire’s rivers, seas and waterways.
