Water firm to invest £797m in network

YORKSHIRE Water is investing £797m over the next 12 months in network improvements.

The investment follows £530m in the 2022/23 financial year and more than £750m in 2023/24.

It will include £60m of work at Ilkley wastewater treatment works. Three years ago a site on the Wharfe at Cromwheel, Ilkley, became the first designated river bathing site in England.

Data published by Defra in December showed water quality at the popular swimming and paddling spot had been classified as “poor” for a third time.

Mr Stuart said: “In Yorkshire, between 2015 and 2025, we’ll have invested over £4.7bn into improving our infrastructure.

“In the next year, we’ll be spending almost £800m on our key environmental improvement plans for wastewater treatment works around the region and ensuring we provide clean, safe drinking water.

“This investment includes finishing a £180m programme to reduce the use of storm overflows across the county, the start of a £60m investment at Ilkley wastewater treatment works to improve bathing water quality, significant investment at some of our larger water treatment works to increase resilience in the drinking water network and the continuation of our £500m programme to reduce phosphorus entering watercourses from our treatment works throughout the region.”

The water company submitted its plans for 2025 to 2030 to Ofwat in October, outlining a £7.8bn investment in the region, supporting more than 10,000 jobs in Yorkshire.

In February the company said bills will rise by an average of 6.17 per cent in April this year, to £466.72 (£39 a month). Under the current plan, the average bill will rise to £585 a year in 2029/30.

The firm recorded a statutory profit of £544m in 2022/23, after a loss of £368.6m in the previous year.