Yorkshire Water: How much sewage is discharged into Sheffield waterways compared to other areas?

Yorkshire Water discharged sewage in Sheffield's waterways 3,256 times throughout 2022, data from The Rivers Trust has revealed.

No water body in Sheffield saw more discharges than the River Don, where 100 spills were recorded for a total of 665.75 hours. The second highest was The Porter, or Little Don River, in Penistone and Stocksbridge, where 91 spills were recorded for a total of 542 hours.

The water industry regulator, Water UK, said: "We recognise that more should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner. We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. Over the next seven years water and sewerage companies plan to spend £10 billion in the biggest transformation of our sewers since the Victorian era.”

Sheffield had the seventh highest number of discharges in Yorkshire and The Humber in 2022. Though the total hours of sewage spills was one of the lowest.

The 10,227 hours of discharges in Sheffield was the 15th highest out of 21 authorities and was less than half of Harrogate's 22,140 hours.

A spokesperson from The Rivers Trust said: "Near real-time data on sewage discharges is the next key step in understanding pollution and how to stop it, so we were pleased when the water industry announced that it will be publishing that data this year.

"To us, it's absolutely vital that the data is published in a way that is accessible to the public. We want to see it all in one place, and with enough detail for people to see what's happening on their nearest river or watercourse."

Under the Environment Act 2021, the government requires sewerage undertakers wholly or mainly in England to report on discharges from storm overflows in near-real time by March 2025. As of writing, only Thames Water and South West Water currently offer access to near-real time data on discharges.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "Our ambitious Plan for Water sets out the increased investment, tougher enforcement and tighter regulation needed to clean up our waterways. We have recently confirmed £1.1 billion in new, accelerated investment to tackle storm overflows.