Swimming status of Ilkley’s River Wharfe in limbo over sewage pollution
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A stretch of the river in West Yorkshire was the first to be given bathing water status in 2020 but has since recorded poor water quality. The first river to be given bathing water status in England is in limbo waiting for the Environment Agency (EA) to approve crucial nature-based solutions that are part of £43m in improvements to cut sewage pollution.
In the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley, campaigners were the first to use the EU-derived bathing water regulations to drive a cleanup of their river. But since part of the River Wharfe was granted bathing water status in 2020, water quality has persistently been recorded as poor, most recently in the latest classifications last month. If it remains poor next year, when the status is up for renewal, it could lose its bathing water designation.
The race to clean up the river comes as water companies await Thursday’s decision from the regulator, Ofwat, on how much they can raise customer bills to the end of the decade. This will pay for investment of between £88bn and £100bn to tackle sewage pollution, replace creaking infrastructure and fix leaks.
Customers face huge bill rises in some areas, with Southern Water seeking rises of 84% and Thames Water 53%. Water companies are simultaneously seeking to hike dividend payments to attract investment that will be repaid by customers via their bills. Yorkshire Water wants to be allowed to increase annual average bills to £569 by 2030.
