90 Sewage Discharges into Bridlington South Bay in 2022

Environment Agency data showed untreated sewage was spilled into Bridlington South Bay for around 162 hours in 2022.

It comes as Environment Agency Event Duration Monitoring figures showed there was a 19 per cent fall in the number of sewage spills from 2021 to 2022.

But Agency Executive Director John Leyland said the fall was largely down to dry weather and lower than average rainfall, not water company action.

The official added the Agency wanted to see quicker progress from companies to reduce spills and act on monitoring data.

Storm overflows allow excess water to be released into rivers, the sea or other water bodies during heavy rain or snowmelt but companies are subject to conditions around using them.

The Rivers Trust state that people should avoid going into waters immediately downstream of discharges, especially after it has been raining.

The latest figures show that in 2022 three overflows discharged sewage into the North Sea by Bridlington South Bay 90 times for a total of 162.35 hours.

Those figures come after the Environment Agency advised bathers against swimming off Bridlington South Beach after grading its water quality as poor, with the cause yet to be established.

North of Bridlington at Bempton, close to the nature reserve of the same name, sewage discharged into a tributary of Danes Dyke 54 times for around 77 hours.

Further down the coast, an overflow discharged for around 57 hours on 52 occasions into the North Sea at Mappleton.

The figures come as the Government has announced £1.6bn to improve water infrastructure to help tackle storm overflow discharges.

The Government is also set to unveil a Plan for Water which could see companies face unlimited fines for polluting rivers and other waterways, including through storm discharges.

Water Minister Rebecca Pow said the latest figures for the amount of dumping in the country’s rivers showed unacceptable levels of sewage were being discharged into them.

Water Minister Ms Pow said improved monitoring of overflows had left the Government better placed to tackle it.

She added water companies were now required to make infrastructure improvements worth a total of £56bn to meet new targets aiming to cut discharges.

The minister said:

“We have set the strictest targets ever on water companies to reduce sewage discharges, and are requiring them to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in their history.

“This is the game-changing action that will make the difference we need.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said their figures for 2022 showed an improvement on discharges overall but warned there was no quick fix as they try to keep customers’ bills down.

Yorkshire Water’s spokesperson said they were determined to tackle overflows to improve rivers’ health.

They added they had already made improvements to their infrastructure and assets.

The spokesperson said:

“Tackling overflows, which were designed into the system as a relief valve, is a priority for us, but it is also a significant task.

“In Yorkshire, we have more than 2,200 overflows and we know replumbing the whole of Yorkshire is not a quick fix as it would be both significantly disruptive and costly to customers and we need to ensure water bills remain affordable.

“A £180m storm overflow improvement plan is already in motion, which will invest in the overflows we know are operating more than others. In the next few months, we’ll be starting work on the first 90 of those overflows and creating extra storage in the system to hold water back and stop it from discharging into rivers.

“This is in addition to the £147m we already planned to spend before the end of 2025 as outlined in our business plans.

“We’re going beyond the government’s storm overflow reduction plan and we’re already planning our largest ever environmental investment programme between 2025 and 2030.”