Our message board

We've recently launched our brand new website with an updated look and lots of new features - let us know what you think.

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Mrs Jahan, Bradford, 16/01/2009

well done, i like the website - its beautiful...

Glyn Gaunt, Beverley, 05/01/2009

Very appropriate website -not too flashy -simple to navigate, I would like to add a comment and this is just a note to the webmaster -two scrollbars on one page is irritating and totally unneccesary in my opinion. (get rid of the overflow!)

Matthew Kettlewell, Yorkshire Water, 05/01/2009

I'm glad you like our new website. We're aware of the problem with the scroll bars and we'll be fixing this soon.

YW customer, Leeds, 17/02/2009

I am very impressed with your website. I have just paid a bill and it was so easy and speedy. Well done!

Jonathan Lewis, North Rigton, 26/02/2009

So now i know why my water charge has increased by twice the rate of inflation for the last few years (and again this year i notice). It is to pay for a flashy new website. Is anyone else angry about the increase this year of over 5%?

Richard Sears, Yorkshire Water, 26/02/2009

Thanks very much for your comments.  This year's prices are £12 less than the national average and our price rises were agreed with our regulator, Ofwat back in 2005. The average bill payer in Yorkshire now pays just 91p a day for their water and sewerage services.  The recent improvements we have made to our website were in response to customer feedback.  Giving customers the ability to interact and transact with us online makes life easier for them and helps us to reduce our costs.  These cost-savings ultimately benefit customers as it allows us to keep our charges as low as possible.

Click here for further information on our investment.

Neil Hall, Bradford, 04/03/2009

Just read Jonathan Lewis' comments and i agree, an increase of over 5% is just taking the mickey.  Easy to do when there is no competition...in the words of our old teachers...YW - must try harder.

Carol, Leeds, 27/02/2009

I think the message board is fine. In light of the Southampton City Primary Care Trust being given the go-ahead to ask Southern Water to add fluoride to the water supply, i sincerely hope this won't happen here, although i think this will now snow-ball. I don't see why they should have power to force water companies to add this substance to their water. The long term health benefits/risks are not entirely proven and, as studies/surveys have shown, most people are against it. Whilst diet is important so is lifestyle and that is what needs to change. What do ther people think?

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 27/02/2009

We do not add fluoride to our customers' drinking water supplies, as fluoride is not needed to enhance drinking water quality. We're aware however that public opinion is divided over whether the fluoridation of water supplies is either ethical or beneficial to health. We've always remained neutral on the grounds that the pros and cons of fluoridation are issues for health experts to resolve. That aside, the passing of the Water Act 2003 means it will never be our decision as to whether or not fluoridation goes ahead.

Elyn Danes, Leeds, 03/03/2009

Does Yorkshire Water wildly over estimate everybodys bills or is it just mine?

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 05/03/2009

The estimating routine looks at the consumption history for each customer, if you feel that the estimate is incorrect you can provide your own reading.

Submit your reading here

Janice Walker, Selby, 11/03/2009

Where can I find your tariff for metered water? Any links on your site that look as though they may lead to it are either circular or lead to an unavailable page. When I rang it took the operator nearly 5 minutes to come back with very basic information. Is it a secret?

We recently launched our 'only available in Yorkshire' campaign, opening up our land for walkers, cyclists, horseriders, anglers, watersport enthusiasts and children.

If you've been on our website ( yorkshirewater.com/recreation) what do you think? Why not tell us if you enjoyed a particular walk or which celebrity podcast you liked the most.

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Paul Gladstone, Driffield, 16/02/2009

the top hill low website looks superb.keep up the excellent work Guys

William BL, South Africa, 16/01/2009

Enjoyed the site! Thanks W

Wayne, 14/01/2009

Is it possible for you to add the nearest post code for the recreational facilities to the website to enable routing for satnav users?

Matthew Kettlewell. Yorkshire Water, 19/01/2009

At the moment the answer is no, but this is a great idea and we are looking to provide this information on our website soon. 

Adrian Hawley, Huddersfield, 13/08/2008

In the first edition of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, the swimming competition was held in open water. The success of the triathlon led to an increase in participation in open water swimming. The triathlon made its Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000 and involves an open water swim of 1500 meters (1.5 kilometers). There seems to be huge surge in the popularity of open water swimming. Your recreation sight does not make any reference to open water swimming. As a trialthete I am always on the look out to get some open water pratice in readiness for a race, as well as many others; will Yorkshire Water allow wetsuited swimmers in its reservoirs

Matthew Kettlewell, Yorkshire Water, 15/08/2008

I'm sorry to say we don't allow access to our water for diving or swimming except in special circumstances as there are hidden dangers such as currents beneath the surface and extremely cold temperatures because the reservoirs are so deep.  Access to the water for diving and swimming is given to our contractors and staff for works and training and to the armed and emergency services for training purposes only.  Good look with the practice for your next triathlon though!

Dave, 07/04/2008

Good Idea. Im a mountain biker, and the Haworth route is a regular trail, I and others use. However, with the amount of land YW owns, I would like to see more than just four routes on your site.

Matthew Kettlewell, Yorkshire Water, 07/04/2008

I'm glad you like the idea. The cycle routes are only really the start of the bigger picture, we're always seeking new opportunities to link bridleways and cycle routes and work closely with the National Park and local authorities.

Denise Howorth, Sowerby Bridge, 24/03/2008

The recreation activities site looks excellent - it's as professionally done as the whole of the YorkshireWater website. It's obvious that a lot of work has gone into this. The pod cast idea is brilliant and I can't wait to try out some of the routes - well done!

Matthew Kettlewell, Yorkshire Water, 25/03/2008

Thanks for your comments - it's great to get feedback like this.

Karon, Baildon, 25/01/2009

Love the web site - very easy to use. Really looking forward to trying the bridleways. Is Esholt available also to hack around?

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 26/01/2009

Thanks for your positive comments about the website. Unfortunately customers don't have access to Esholt but let us know anymore comments you have once you've visited our bridleways.

Anna Moon, Sheffield, 27/02/2009

Please could you put a map on the site where the reservoirs are.

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 02/03/2009

We have all our reservoirs plotted on google maps and these can be located via the 'In your area' section or our 'Land & Recreation' site.

Click here to visit the Land & Recreation site.

Click here to visit the 'In your area' section.

Andy, Holmfirth, 14/03/2009

I think Yw is doing an excellent job making reservoir walks more accessible - but a major moan of mine concerns the selfish dirty dog owners who think it is acceptable to allow their animal to foul the footpath and then either leave it there or, in some ways much worse, bag it up and then either throw it in the undergrowth, or leave it where it was intially dropped, presumably for someone else to pick up? Digley reservoir at Holmfirth is a disgrace, particularly at the quarry car park and the track leading off from there. Please can YW provide dog 'poo' bins, and/or place notices warning of prosecution for offenders, or even try to catch them and prosecute them? I'll even hide in the bushes with a video camera and do it for you!

Geoff Lomas, Yorkshire Water, 17/03/2009

We are aware of the issues of dog poo in the car park at Digley reservoir. We have over a numbers of years discussed this with Kirklees council and local councillors. We have tried to form a partnership to help support the clearing of this 'special' waste from these car park areas in Kirklees, as yet the council will not help support our discussions and remove waste created by dogs. We have placed signs at sites in the past with little impact and if we are unable to enforce them they are not much value. At other sites like Leeds, Craven and Harrogate, the local authority dog wardens have patrolled the site and enforced the dog fouling act and drawn attention to the inconvenience that dog foulding brings to others that use the site.

Jonathan Snook, Cullingworth, 18/03/2009

I found the cycle routes section of your website while I was trying to find information about the resurfacing of Hambleton Lane bridleway near Ogden Water. Were Yorkshire Water responsible for the resurfacing? In my opinion the resurfacing has completely ruined the bridleway, obliterating any natural feature that happened to be in the way and creating an isore that is totally out of place in that moorland environment. This bridleway was and still is very popular with mountain bikers who enjoy riding bridleways that aren't 8ft wide and covered in gravel. Can you allay my fears that the rest of the bridleways over Thornton Moor aren't going to be obliterated in the same manner? I am sorry if this is not the right place for me to voice my concerns but I couldn't find any where else. I fully support trying to encourage more people to cycle but strongly disagree that destroying already popular bridleways with gravel is the right way of going about it. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 20/03/2009

The re-surfacing of Hambleton Lane was a project carried out by Bradford Metropolitan District Council under their duties to maintain public right of way as Highway Authority. If you'd lile to contact Bradford's Countryside and Rights of Way section then they will explain the reasons behind this.

Steve Sellars, Holmfirth, 05/04/2009

Very interesting site but it would be helpful if there were some clue as to car park charges or if they are free?

Alastair Harvey, Yorkshire Water, 06/04/2009

It is currently free to park in all car parks.

Michael Oliver, Doncaster, 22/04/2009

Please advise me on locations available for scuba diving in the Yorkshire area.

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 22/04/2009

Unfortunately this is not available on any of our sites.

If you go to our Draft Business Planpage you'll be able to read how we plan to invest £2 billion in Yorkshire between 2010-2015. We'd really welcome your comments.

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John Wood, Pontefract, 15/01/09

I just want to say how delighted I was with your phone service on the 4th January. The phone was answered by the automated service but then a 'real' person answered my query and rang me back when they said they would. Well done Yorkshire Water. It's a shame Talk Talk doesn't take a leaf out of your book. Best wishes for 2009.

Lewis Wood, Hull, 20/02/09

Why do YW say one thing and tell lies to customers regarding information from the helpline? They send bills to direct customers and just take the money but offer nothing in return?

Michelle Lewis, Yorkshire Water, 24/02/09

Many thanks for comments on the service and investment we provide to customers in Hull.  It's disappointing that you believe that we lie about our commitment to the City and as you'll see from the investment pages linked below we're significantly improving our sewers and pumps in Hull. 

We're also working with the local council and the Environment Agency on better planning and co-ordination of work and a key part of this will be engagement with all our customers.  If you've any particular issues with our services, we'd be pleased to have the opportunity to work with you to get a better understanding of how we may be able to address your concerns.

Click here for further information on our investment.

Jeff North, Cottingham, 13/03/2009

You stated the % increase in water cost for 2009/10 would be on your website by 1st March. I cannot find this?

Paulo Lewandowski, Yorkshire Water, 17/03/2009

Please see attached the link to our charges section, click here.

James Reynolds, Doncaster, 12/03/2009

I was somewhat surpirsed to see that reservoir levels are at 92%. I would have thought very close to 100% would have been the norm and considering recent weather conditions. Is it demand versus supply or inadequate retention of rainfall and delivery of water?

Matthew Kettlewell, Yorkshire Water, 13/03/2009

Thanks for your question.  The reservoir levels on our website are an average across the whole of Yorkshire.  Some of our reservoirs are 100%, about 20 at the moment, but because we're conducting some necessary work in South Yorkshire to improve some of our reservoirs, we've had to temporarily release some of the water.  This is reflected in the regional average.

We've also had a pretty dry winter experiencing only 80% of expected rainfall.