Accessibility

We are committed to making the Yorkshire Water website accessible and usable for as many people as possible. 

Cat in drawers

Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.yorkshirewater.com.  

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard and are actively working toward compliance with the newer WCAG 2.2 requirements. 

 

How accessible this website is  

Supported features:

  • no flashing or blinking content is present, reducing the risk of triggering seizures in users with photosensitive epilepsy 
  • users can review, edit, or verify information before completing actions, supporting people with cognitive, visual, or motor impairments 
  • the website supports both portrait and landscape orientation on most pages. 
  • captions are provided where required, supporting users with hearing impairments 
  • clear and descriptive headings and labels are provided on most pages 
  • a bypass mechanism, such as a Skip to main content link, is available where needed to help keyboard and screen‑reader users avoid repetitive navigation. 

Current situation 

We know that significant parts of our website are not yet fully accessible. Our most recent accessibility assessment identified several issues affecting key areas of the site, and we are actively addressing these over the coming months. 

Current known limitations include: 

  • Zooming: some pages do not yet fully support zoom levels between 200% and 400%, which may cause certain content to overlap or become harder to view. 
  • Screen reader compatibility: in a small number of cases, screen readers may not consistently announce content as expected. 
  • Keyboard navigation: some pages and components cannot be navigated reliably using only a keyboard. 
  • Older PDF documents: many older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. However,  we’re working to improve these over time. 
  • Videos: some embedded videos do not include audio descriptions or transcripts. 

We recognise these issues may make parts of the website difficult or impossible to use for some people and we are committed to addressing them as a priority. 

 

What we're doing to improve accessibility 


We’re currently working with an external accessibility specialist to: 

  • identify and prioritise all WCAG 2.2 AA issues 
  • fix defects within our existing website 
  • improve user journeys and forms across the site 
  • ensure all new content and services are designed, built and tested for accessibility before they go live 

We will update this statement as improvements are made.  

Recite Me  

We provide the Recite Me accessibility toolbar, which allows pages to be   customised using  features such as:  

  • website translation  
  • text-to-speech  
  • colour, text and layout customisation  
  • reading ruler and screen mask  
  • text magnification  
  • onpage dictionary  
  • option to remove images and view pages as plain text.  

The toolbar can be accessed using the “Accessibility tools” link at the top of any page.  

 The Recite Me website includes guidance on using all features.  

Non-accessible content

Some online forms and services are hosted on external subdomains that are not currently WCAG compliant. These include:  

  • forms under yorkshirewater.com/gdpr  
  • selfserve forms on my.yorkshirewater.com, tell-us.yorkshirewater.com, login.yorkshirewater.com 
  • embedded forms on : 
  • www.yorkshirewater.com/general-enquiries/ 
  • www.yorkshirewater.com/water-meters/submit-meter-reading/ . 

We plan to address accessibility issues within these areas as part of our wider improvement programme. 

Content outside the scope of accessibility regulations  

The accessibility regulations do not require fixes to documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services. 

If information is required in a different format  

Where information is required in an accessible format (such as large print, audio, Braille, or accessible PDF), this can be arranged by:  

  • signing up to our Priority Services register  
  • calling us on 0800 138 7878  
  • contacting us through a BSL interpreter using InterpretersLive . 

We will do our best to provide the information needed in a format that works for each individual.  

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on13 March 2026. 

We’re currently partnering with an accessibility testing specialist to inform activity to comply with the WCAG 2.2 standard.