Yorkshire Water’s poor performance is highlighted (along with many others) as The Environment Agency (EA) has given England’s water companies their worst ever combined marks in its annual rating system for their environmental performance in 2024, amid a spike in serious pollution incidents in the UK, the trade association for the water industry, acknowledged that “the performance of some companies is not good enough” but pointed to investment since last year.
Thames Water – the UK’s largest water company – was penalised the most by Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, at £75.2m for its performance in the 2024/25 year. It was also given the lowest, one-star rating, by the EA. The third worse performer was Yorkshire Water who received two stars (the maximum is four) which indicates their performance ‘requires improvements’.
The performance results, were the worst on record and failing companies have been ordered to compensate consumers with reduced bills, whilst well forming companies can increase their bills. This only applied to United Utilities and Severn Trent Water.
The BBC News web site reports that in response to the EA’s report, Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Customers are now paying more than ever before through water bills and they will expect to see companies delivering on their promises to cut pollution and help bring rivers, lakes and wildlife habitats back to life. “If the industry fails to deliver, the damage to public trust – which is already at an all-time low – may be unrecoverable,” he added.