What is pollution?
Pollution occurs when water becomes contaminated. Causes of pollution include burst pipes, misconnections, the impacts of severe weather (including flooding), and where our treatment processes haven't performed as we expect. Pollution is monitored by the Environment Agency, with each incident categorised according to it's impact on the environment and people, from category 1 (the most serious) to category 4 (little or no impact).
Toilet paper, tissues, wipes, faecal matter, condoms or sanitary products
Cloudy or milky river or stream
Soap suds or foam
Slimy grey sewage fungus
Dead or gasping fish
Sewage odour
Reporting pollution
If you've spotted pollution in a water course, please call us on 0800 138 3484 so we can investigate as a priority.
How can you help?
Only flush the 3 Ps
No matter what they say on the packet, wipes shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet. You can help us massively reduce pollution by only flushing the 3 Ps - pee, paper and poo.
Fat, oil and grease
Fat, oil and grease turns solid in our pipes and can cause costly bursts and, ultimately, pollute our water. Instead of pouring them down the sink, allow them to cool before putting them in the bin.
Watersafe plumbers
Use Watersafe Plumbers. This can help prevent misconnections, which occur when washing machines or toilets are wrongly plumbed into surface water sewers, releasing untreated water into our rivers.
What we're doing
We’ve been doing extensive research to understand what you’d like us to improve on over the next 5 years. We know that you need us to prevent sewage escapes from damaging your homes and the environment, and that you’re wanting to see improvements to Yorkshire’s rivers across the region.
Building on the foundation of our previous plans, our 2026 Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP) reflects the progress we have already made and and how we have continued to learn by using a more targeted, insight‑led approach. One of these foundations is a dedicated Pollution Root Cause Analysis (RCA) team, whose work has enhanced our understanding of the underlying drivers of pollution incidents across our system. This has been used to directly shape and strengthen the improvement projects included within this updated plan.
Our ambition remains bold. We continue to work towards a 30% reduction in pollution incidents, while also striving to achieve zero serious pollution incidents. The enhanced RCA‑informed approach allows us to prioritise the interventions with the greatest impact, refine our operational strategies, and ensure that our investment delivers the best possible value.
Our plan is aspirational and will be dynamic as it evolves to meet the scale of the challenge while developing and deploying the most cost-effective solutions.