Is Yorkshire Water polluting our river? We're going to find out.
The River Wharfe runs through the heart of this town. It belongs to all of us. We know Yorkshire Water's own data shows significant upstream discharge. But we don't yet know what that means for the Wharfe at Otley. That's why we're testing it. And we need the whole community behind us.
1,131
Hours Yorkshire Water discharged from Burley & Menston STW — directly upstream of Otley — in 2025. Their own data.
100
Separate discharge events from the same upstream site in 2024. Not exceptional rainfall. Routine.
0
Successful prosecutions of Yorkshire Water for sewage pollution in the last decade. Zero.
This Is What We're Protecting.
Our river. Still thriving. Let's keep it that way.
Every one of these animals was photographed on the River Wharfe at Otley. Otters. Kingfishers. Dippers. Eels. This river is alive. Our testing programme will tell us whether it stays that way.
Otter
Photographed on the River Wharfe at Otley. Otters returned to the Wharfe because the water got cleaner. We intend to keep it that way.
Kingfisher
Numbers are falling. Dependent on clean water and healthy fish populations. Both are at risk.
Dipper
A river health indicator species. Only found on clean, fast rivers. Their presence is a sign. Their absence would be a verdict.
European Eel
Critically endangered. Still in the Wharfe. Still at risk. Every sewage discharge is a threat to their survival.
Otter at the Weir
Photographed on the Wharfe at Otley. This is what clean water looks like. This is what we are protecting.
Dipper in the Foam
Dippers live where water is clean and fast-flowing. Their presence here is a sign. We intend to keep it that way.
02
Join the Testing Programme
Data is our most powerful weapon.
Yorkshire Water will dismiss opinion. They cannot dismiss independent, peer-reviewed water testing data gathered by Otley residents, at sites across the Wharfe, building the evidence. That data is what builds the case against Yorkshire Water. We need volunteers. No science background required.
03
The Evidence
The data already tells a story. We're finding out ours.
Yorkshire Water's own records show the Burley and Menston sewage treatment works — directly upstream of Otley — discharged for 1,131 hours in 2025 and across 100 separate events in 2024. Under the Water Industry Act 1991, overflows are only permitted in genuine extreme weather. That data raises serious questions. Our testing programme on the Wharfe at Otley will answer them.
Yorkshire Water is breaking the law.
Since 1991. In plain sight.
The law exists. It will be enforced.
The evidence will force the change.
★
Watch This. Then Get Angry.
Dirty Business. Channel 4.
A three-part Channel 4 drama that tells the real story of what water companies have been doing to England's rivers. Based on a decade-long investigation by two ordinary residents who noticed the fish in their local river dying — and refused to accept the answers they were given.
It features whistleblowers, victims, and the amateur investigators who built the evidence that exposed a national scandal. Starring David Thewlis and Jason Watkins.
"Our rivers and waterways are marinated in excrement, urine, unmetabolized drugs, and anything else the water companies choose to put in the sewage they dump straight into our waterways as the cheapest method of getting rid of it."
Hours of sewage discharged into English rivers between 2019 and 2024
£76bn
Paid in dividends to shareholders since privatisation, while accruing £56bn in debt
0
Water company owners, executives or fund managers ever prosecuted
This is what we're fighting against.
The campaign that inspired Dirty Business — Windrush Against Sewage Pollution — started exactly where we're starting. Local residents. Their river. Their data. Theirs is the playbook we're using for the Wharfe.
Why We'll Win
Ilkley forced a win. We're doing the same.
Ten miles upstream, the Ilkley Clean River Group spent two years gathering data, applying pressure, and refusing to go away. In 2020 the Ilkley Clean River Group forced a landmark win against Yorkshire Water on the same river. Community pressure, independent data, refusing to go away. That is exactly what we are doing.
2020
Ilkley's landmark win
2026
Otley begins the fight
247 Otley residents already signed up
Don't Miss A Thing.
We only write when there's something worth saying. No noise. No filler. Just the evidence, the action calls, and the wins.
💧
Spill alerts: know when the river's been hit before the news does
📊
Data drops: our test results, raw and unfiltered
⚡
Action calls: when we need you, you'll be first to know
🏆
The wins: every time we score, we celebrate it together
Join the fight. Stay in the loop.
THE WHARFE IS OURS. NOT THEIRS.
See something? Do this.
Report a Discharge
0800 80 70 60
Free. 24 hours. Or email us a photo →
Independent evidence
See the Test Data
Join the testing programme. Be the evidence.
Community groups
Partner With Us
If your group uses the Wharfe, we need you in this fight.
Community Water Testing Programme
The Evidence Engine.
Yorkshire Water will dismiss opinion. They cannot dismiss independent, peer-reviewed water testing data gathered by Otley residents. This programme is the foundation of the entire campaign.
Our Testing Network · 8 Sites · River Wharfe
Where we're testing and why.
Our eight testing sites are positioned to track the Wharfe from before it enters Otley to after it leaves — capturing the effect of every major sewage input along the way. The sites were chosen in collaboration between Otley Clean River Group and the University of York.
Otley Clean River Group · Testing Site Map · River Wharfe 2026
Upstream reference point above Burley/Menston STW. Establishes the baseline before Yorkshire Water's discharge enters the Wharfe.
2
WC09
Burley/Menston Sewage Treatment Works
Directly below the STW that self-reported 1,131 hours of discharge in 2025. A critical monitoring point.
3
WC09
Gill Beck
Tributary entering the Wharfe. Monitors additional pollution pathways into the main channel.
4
Mickle Ing Beck
Second tributary monitored to understand all routes into the Wharfe through Otley.
5
Wharfe after Mickle Ing Beck
Downstream confluence point — captures cumulative effect of all upstream inputs.
6
Otley Sewage Treatment Works
Yorkshire Water's Otley STW discharge point. Monitoring directly downstream of this site is central to the campaign.
7
WC10
Knotsford Nook Sewage Treatment Works
Further STW discharge point on the Wharfe. Part of the full picture of sewage inputs through the town.
8
WC11
Pool-in-Wharfedale
Downstream reference point. Shows cumulative water quality after all Otley sources, and provides data on how far any pollution travels.
WC codes refer to site reference numbers on the Ordnance Survey map above. Sites 4 and 5 use provisional numbering pending final confirmation.
Free Training Days — Sign Up Now
Tues 4th & Wed 5th August 7pm – 9pm
Functional Drinks Club, Otley
Free to attend. No experience needed. Once you're trained, you'll have a kit, a site, and a schedule. Show up and you're part of the programme.
First Testing Dates — All 8 Sites
21st – 24th August 2026
Our first full testing sweep across all 8 sites on the Wharfe through Otley. If you're trained and available, we need you on the river.
Why this comes before everything else
You don't shout until the data says shout.
The River Wharfe at Otley — your river
The Ilkley Clean River Group used independent citizen testing data to force Yorkshire Water to account. Our water quality data — gathered by our community — directly advances the case for a clean River Wharfe. The testing data, the press, the political pressure: all of it lands harder when it's backed by numbers they can't dismiss.
No science background required. We train every volunteer. You show up, follow the process carefully, and care about the Wharfe.
8
Testing sites on the Wharfe through Otley
0
Science qualifications needed to participate
Register your place.
THE DATA WE GATHER CANNOT BE DISMISSED. THIS IS HOW WE WIN.
The Evidence
The Case.
This isn't our opinion. It's the law, the data, and what Yorkshire Water's own records show. Here is what Yorkshire Water's own data shows — and why it matters for Otley.
The Legal Position
What the law says. And what the data already shows.
Combined Sewer Overflows are relief valves built into the sewage system to prevent sewage flooding homes during extremely heavy rainfall. In those specific circumstances — and only those — they are legal. The Water Industry Act 1991 is clear.
What Yorkshire Water is doing on the Wharfe does not meet the legal threshold. It happens too often, in conditions that don't qualify as exceptional, at volumes that cannot be explained by the weather. Their own Event Duration Monitoring data proves it.
Water Industry Act 1991
"It shall be the duty of every sewerage undertaker to effectually drain its area." Routine CSO use is evidence of inadequate infrastructure — not a legal excuse for discharging sewage.
114
Days of sewage spills upstream at Ilkley in 2019. In a single year.
400K+
Sewage pollution events in England in one year. Not exceptional. Everyday.
0
Successful criminal prosecutions of Yorkshire Water for sewage dumping in a decade
Proof It Can Change
Ilkley forced Yorkshire Water to act. We're doing the same thing downstream.
The Ilkley Clean River Group was formed in 2018. They gathered independent data, applied sustained pressure, and in 2020 forced a landmark outcome against Yorkshire Water on the same river. Same company, same broken law, same approach: independent data, sustained pressure, refusing to be ignored. That is our fight.
Watch This
Dirty Business. Channel 4.
A three-part Channel 4 drama that tells the real story of what England's water companies have been doing to our rivers. Based on a decade-long investigation by two ordinary residents who noticed the fish in their river dying and refused to give up.
The campaign that inspired it — Windrush Against Sewage Pollution — is the exact model we are following for the Wharfe. Their story is our blueprint.
"The water companies dump sewage in our waterways and almost every time they do that, that's a crime. Yet no water company owner, executive or hedge fund manager has ever been prosecuted."
Joseph Bullman — writer-director, Dirty Business, Channel 4
THE DATA IS BUILDING. OTLEY DESERVES ANSWERS.
Every action counts
Take Action.
You don't need to be an expert. You just need to give a damn. Here's what you can do right now.
Priority Actions
Do these first.
01
Join the Testing Programme
Our independent data is the foundation of the entire campaign. Yorkshire Water can't dismiss what they can't explain. We need volunteers to gather it. No science background needed.
02
Report a Discharge
Brown water, sewage smell, overflow pipes running: photograph it, log it, call the EA on 0800 80 70 60. Your eyes on the river build the record they can't escape.
Don't Stand By.
The people who change things are the ones who showed up. Get the alerts, the data, the action calls.
Stay in the loop. Join the fight.
Community Monitoring
Report a Discharge.
Every logged incident builds the record Yorkshire Water cannot explain away. See something wrong? Log it here, then call the EA.
Call EA Now:0800 80 70 60
How to report
Three steps. Every time.
1
📸 Photograph everything
Water colour, overflow pipes, location, time and date stamp. Multiple angles. Video if possible.
Every report goes into our evidence database. We cross-reference against Yorkshire Water's own data. Gaps become headlines.
Log an incident.
THE TEAM
The People Behind This Campaign
Leading the Charge.
Not professional campaigners. Not career activists. Otley people who are done waiting for someone else to fix it.
The One Who Started It
Christopher Trow
He saw what was happening to the Wharfe, got angry, and brought the right people together. The team picked it up and ran with it. None of this exists without that first step.
Chair
Pelle Langli
Has been walking the Wharfe for 20 years and watched it get steadily worse. As Chair, Pelle keeps the campaign focused, the team coordinated and the pressure relentless. Doesn't do polite. Does results.
Brand & Communications
Kev Gillespie
Kev makes sure the campaign speaks plainly and hits hard. When the story needs telling, Kev tells it. When Yorkshire Water spin their version, he unpicks it word by word.
River User & Community Voice
Lizzy Fawcett
Swimmer. Paddleboarder. Cyclist. Runner. Lizzy uses the Wharfe in every way a river should be used. She knows that clean water isn't a luxury, it's the whole point. Water is the most important ingredient for life. That's worth fighting for.
Community Organiser
Sarah McBrinn
Sarah is in this because the Wharfe is part of what makes Otley great. She wants wildlife thriving in it, people enjoying it, and Yorkshire Water held to account for failing to invest our money in the infrastructure that would protect it.
Get Involved
There's an action group behind this campaign. We need you in it.
Otley Clean River Group has an active community action group meeting regularly: residents, professionals and river users planning the campaign, building the evidence base and pushing Yorkshire Water for answers.
This campaign wins when Otley gets behind it. If you have skills in science, media, community organising, design or tech, get in touch. Or just show up and join the testing programme.
Who We Are
About OCRG.
A community group, formed in Otley, by Otley people. Not a charity. Not a lobby group. A campaign with one specific goal and the evidence to back it up.
About the Group
Otley people. Otley river. Our campaign.
The Otley Clean River Group was formed in 2026 by residents who had had enough. Dog walkers, swimmers, parents, anglers, teachers, retired people. People who love the Wharfe and refuse to accept what's being done to it.
We operate on one principle: load the gun before you pull the trigger. Evidence first. Noise second. Everything we say is backed by data.
We are not affiliated with any political party. We have no corporate sponsors. We are accountable only to this community.
Three objectives. Non-negotiable.
01
A Clean River Wharfe Through Otley
Clean enough to swim in, fish in, and walk alongside without breathing sewage. The river belongs to this community.
02
Yorkshire Water Must Comply With the Law
The Water Industry Act 1991 is clear. Yorkshire Water is in breach. We're going to make sure nobody can ignore it.
03
Restore the Wharfe as the Heart of Otley
A river running through a town should be its greatest asset. We want the Wharfe protected for every generation.
This river still has otters. That is what we are protecting.
What We Believe
The Manifesto.
Our river is not a sewer.
Our kids swam in it. Our grandparents swam in it. We want to swim in it again.
The Wharfe is the reason Otley exists. It does not belong to Yorkshire Water.
Yorkshire Water pays dividends while pumping filth into our water. That's not acceptable.
The law exists. It needs to be enforced. We will not stop until it is.
Otley is a town of people who say what they mean. So do we.
You don't need to be an expert. You just need to give a damn.
This is not someone else's problem. It's ours. And we're fixing it.
Live Data · River Wharfe Testing Programme · Otley 2026
The Data Doesn't Lie.
This is real-time evidence gathered by Otley residents. Every reading on this page was taken by a volunteer from our community at a site on the Wharfe. Every reading is proof of what Yorkshire Water have been doing to our river.
Every test you run is evidence. Every breach you record is proof.
Yorkshire Water have been breaking the law since 1991. They get away with it because nobody has held them to account with hard data. Our volunteers are changing that. Each reading you take goes directly into the case we are building against them.
8 sites · testing underway
What we measure and why
E. coli. The proof of sewage in water.
E. coli is a bacteria found in the gut of warm-blooded animals including humans. Its presence in river water is the internationally recognised indicator of sewage contamination. When it exceeds legal limits, the river is unsafe to swim in, paddle in, or let your dog drink from.
The legal bathing water standard is 900 cfu/100ml. Above that, the water fails. What our tests are finding on the Wharfe should make Yorkshire Water very uncomfortable.
Safe Level
Under 900
cfu/100ml — Legal bathing water standard
Caution
900 to 2,500
cfu/100ml — Poor water quality
Illegal / Dangerous
Over 2,500
cfu/100ml — Fails all standards. Do not enter water.
Our Testing Network · 8 Sites · River Wharfe
Where we're testing and why.
Our eight testing sites are positioned to track the Wharfe from before it enters Otley to after it leaves — capturing the effect of every major sewage input along the way. The sites were chosen in collaboration between Otley Clean River Group and the University of York.
Otley Clean River Group · Testing Site Map · River Wharfe 2026
Upstream reference point above Burley/Menston STW. Establishes the baseline before Yorkshire Water's discharge enters the Wharfe.
2
WC09
Burley/Menston Sewage Treatment Works
Directly below the STW that self-reported 1,131 hours of discharge in 2025. A critical monitoring point.
3
WC09
Gill Beck
Tributary entering the Wharfe. Monitors additional pollution pathways into the main channel.
4
Mickle Ing Beck
Second tributary monitored to understand all routes into the Wharfe through Otley.
5
Wharfe after Mickle Ing Beck
Downstream confluence point — captures cumulative effect of all upstream inputs.
6
Otley Sewage Treatment Works
Yorkshire Water's Otley STW discharge point. Monitoring directly downstream of this site is central to the campaign.
7
WC10
Knotsford Nook Sewage Treatment Works
Further STW discharge point on the Wharfe. Part of the full picture of sewage inputs through the town.
8
WC11
Pool-in-Wharfedale
Downstream reference point. Shows cumulative water quality after all Otley sources, and provides data on how far any pollution travels.
WC codes refer to site reference numbers on the Ordnance Survey map above. Sites 4 and 5 use provisional numbering pending final confirmation.
01
The Testing Programme Is Live
This page fills up when you show up.
The readings, the chart, the results table — all of it will be populated by our volunteer testers on the Wharfe, at 8 sites through Otley. We don't yet know what our river's water quality looks like. That's the point. Independent data that can't be dismissed.
The data page you're looking at is waiting for you to fill it. Every reading matters. Every result, good or bad, is evidence. Join us and let's find out what's really in our river.
Free Training Days — Sign Up Now
Tues 4th & Wed 5th August 7pm – 9pm
Functional Drinks Club, Otley
Free to attend. No experience needed. Once you're trained, you'll have a kit, a site, and a schedule. Show up and you're part of the programme.
Why this matters
The evidence we collect is the case.
Yorkshire Water can dismiss opinion. They cannot dismiss independent water quality data gathered by residents of this town. Every E. coli reading taken on the Wharfe at Otley — whatever it shows — is a data point that builds the picture. If the river is clean, we'll know. If it's not, we'll have the proof.
The Ilkley Clean River Group built their evidence base the same way. Starting from nothing. One reading at a time.
8
Testing sites on the Wharfe through Otley
100%
Of results published publicly. No filtering. No hiding.
Community Partnerships · Otley & Wharfe Valley
Join the Fight.
This campaign is stronger when Otley stands together. If your group, club or organisation uses the Wharfe — or cares about the future of this town — we want to hear from you.
Why We Need You
Bigger networks. More noise. More pressure.
Yorkshire Water ignores small voices. They cannot ignore an entire town. Every community group that backs this campaign adds weight to the case. Their members become our members. Their events become our platforms. Their networks amplify our message.
We are not asking you to do anything except what you already do — care about Otley and the Wharfe. We'll provide the evidence, the resources, and the campaign materials. You bring your people.
Get in Touch
Use the form below to tell us who you are, what your group does, and how you'd like to be involved. We'll come to you.
Share Our Campaign
Share our posts, our data, our campaign. Tag #OtleyCleanRiver on everything. Tag @YorkshireWater. The more people who see this, the harder it is to ignore.
Bring Your Events
Got a riverside event, a club meeting, a community gathering? We'll come and speak, bring our evidence, and give your members the chance to sign up and get involved.
Who We're Talking To
If you use the Wharfe, this is your fight too.
🎣
Fishing Clubs
You've watched the fish decline. Your members know the Wharfe better than anyone. Their testimony and their data are central to this case.
🏊
Wild Swimming Groups
You've been denied the right to swim in your own river. Your anger is earned and your voice is powerful. We want it front and centre.
🚣
Canoe & Rowing Clubs
Your members paddle through the discharge. Their health is at risk every time they train. They deserve a clean river.
🌿
Wildlife & Nature Groups
Naturalists, birders, wildlife recorders. Your surveys are evidence. Every invertebrate count, every species sighting, builds the ecological case.
🏫
Schools & Colleges
Environmental education. Citizen science. A living classroom that's being poisoned. We'll provide resources and speaking visits.
🏘️
Residents' Associations
The people who live near the Wharfe, walk it every day, and remember what it used to look and smell like. Their stories matter.
🏃
Running & Walking Clubs
You use the riverside paths every week. You've seen the evidence with your own eyes. Help us show the rest of Otley what's happening.
🎭
Community & Arts Groups
Events, festivals, performances. Every gathering is a chance to reach new people with the message. The Wharfe belongs to all of Otley.
What We're Asking
Three simple things.
1
Share our campaign with your members
A link in your newsletter, a post on your social media, a mention at your next meeting. That's it. Every share reaches someone new.
2
Report discharges when you see them
Your members are on the river. Every photo, every EA call, every report builds the case. Encourage your community to document what they see.
3
Let us speak at your events
A 10-minute presentation with the evidence. The chance for your members to join the testing programme, and get involved. We'll bring everything.
Let's Talk.
If your group wants to be part of this, we want to hear from you. Drop us a message and we'll get back to you within a week.
Get in touch. Partner with us.
The National Fight · UK Water Pollution Campaigns
Otley Is Not Alone. Not Even Close.
The fight for clean rivers is happening across the whole of the UK. These are the national organisations and campaigns taking the water companies to account. Follow them, support them, amplify them.
The Scale of This
This is a national scandal. These people are fighting it.
In 2024 alone, water companies dumped raw sewage into England's rivers, lakes and seas for 3.6 million hours across 464,000 incidents. Serious pollution incidents rose by 60%. Since privatisation, £73 billion of bill payers' money has lined investors' pockets. These organisations are on the front line of changing that.
The organisation coordinating the national fight. River Action led the March for Clean Water, organised alongside Feargal Sharkey and supported by over 130 organisations. They are pushing for wholesale reform of the water industry, the Environment Agency and Ofwat. As Chair Charles Watson puts it: nothing short of wholesale reform will suffice.
30 years of fighting crappy water quality. Their Safer Seas and Rivers Service app lets you check for sewage alerts in real time before you swim or paddle. They documented over 7,000 cases of illness linked to swimming at official bathing sites. They are running a major campaign to designate 200 inland bathing waters by 2030 and are co-secretariat of the Water Pollution All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Real-time Sewage AppBathing Water DesignationPolitical Lobbying
The inspiration for Channel 4's Dirty Business. Started as a local campaign on the River Windrush in Oxfordshire, WASP became nationally significant through a decade of rigorous data investigation. They specialise in analysing water company data to uncover illegal pollution missed by regulators. Their findings have been shocking — and have held water companies to account in ways no other campaign has managed. This is the Ilkley model at national scale. This is our model.
The Angling Trust has been campaigning for cleaner waterways since 1948. Their Anglers Against Pollution campaign gives anglers a voice in the fight for cleaner rivers. Fish Legal, their partner organisation, uses legal challenges to fight polluters directly — taking water companies to court. They have the largest citizen science water quality dataset in UK rivers, and they know how to use it.
Legal ChallengesWater Quality MonitoringAnglers Against Pollution
A network of local river trusts working to restore rivers across the UK. Their interactive map shows combined sewer overflow locations — use it to understand exactly what infrastructure is pumping into your stretch of the Wharfe. They run the "Is your river fit to swim in?" campaign and have been central to pushing for bathing water designations across England.
The most prominent individual voice in the fight for clean rivers in England. Former Undertones frontman turned relentless water industry campaigner. Sharkey has co-led the March for Clean Water, launched judicial reviews of the Environment Agency's failures, and refused to soften his language despite pressure from every direction. His summary: "We've been lied to, misled, fleeced and had." He's right.
Earthwatch run the national citizen science water testing programme. Their biannual testing events attracted over 7,000 participants in Spring 2025 — the highest ever. The methodology they use is the same accredited approach our own testing programme follows. Their data sits alongside ours in the national picture of river pollution in England.
A coalition of inland water users and groups focused specifically on sewage pollution. The network connects campaigns like ours across the country — sharing data, methodology, legal strategy and political pressure. Ilkley Clean River Group is a member. We intend to be too. This is the national infrastructure that local campaigns plug into.
Campaign NetworkShared StrategyInland Water Users
!
The Bigger Picture
This is the biggest environmental scandal in British history.
£73 billion paid out to investors while sewage flows into every river in England. 63 pollution prosecutions in a decade. 0 rivers in good health. The organisations on this page are fighting to change all of it. We are fighting for our stretch of the Wharfe. Together, it becomes impossible to ignore.
Transparency · Evidence · Sources
Sources & References.
Every claim we make is backed by evidence. This page lists the sources for every statistic, figure and legal reference used across this website. If you can't find something, email us.
Our Commitment
We only say what we can prove.
This campaign is built on evidence. We do not exaggerate, speculate or make claims we cannot substantiate. Where figures come from third-party sources, we link to them directly. Where figures come from our own testing programme, we publish the raw data on the Test Data page.
Statistics & Claims — Cited by Source
The evidence behind the numbers.
Claim
"1,131 hours of discharge from Burley/Menston STW in 2025 — 100 events in 2024"
Used on the home page and The Case page to show self-reported sewage discharge data from a Yorkshire Water site directly upstream of Otley on the River Wharfe.
Submitted by Yorkshire Water to the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. Published on data.gov.uk under the Open Government Licence. 2025 data: 63 discharge events, 1,131 hours. 2024 data: 100 discharge events, 1,951 hours. This is Yorkshire Water's own self-reported data. The site discharges into the Wharfe catchment upstream of Otley.
Used on the home page and the petition page to illustrate the scale of illegal discharges at a monitoring point upstream of Otley on the same stretch of the River Wharfe.
Source
Ilkley Clean River Group — Independent Water Testing Data (2019)
Ilkley CRG conducted independent monitoring of the River Wharfe at Ilkley throughout 2019, documenting 114 days on which E. coli levels consistent with sewage discharge were recorded. Their data was submitted to the Environment Agency and used in the campaign for improved water quality on this stretch of the Wharfe.
Water companies are required to report combined sewer overflow (CSO) events to the Environment Agency via Event Duration Monitoring (EDM). The EA's published EDM data for 2022 recorded approximately 400,000 sewage overflow events across England. This figure refers to individual overflow events, not hours of discharge.
"Zero prosecutions of Yorkshire Water in a decade"
Used on the home page and the petition page to illustrate the failure of regulatory enforcement.
Source
Environment Agency — Published Prosecution Records; Water Industry Regulator Ofwat
The Environment Agency publishes its prosecution outcomes. Analysis of EA prosecution data shows that successful criminal prosecutions of major water companies for sewage pollution offences have been extremely rare. Yorkshire Water has not faced a successful criminal prosecution for sewage discharges in the period covered by our campaign. The EA itself acknowledged in 2023 that enforcement action has been inadequate.
"Sewage overflows are only legal in extreme weather — legislation dating to 1991"
Used across the site to explain the legal basis of our campaign.
Source
Water Industry Act 1991, Section 94; Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations 1994
Section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 places a duty on sewerage undertakers to maintain a system that effectively drains their area. The Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 further require that combined sewer overflows only operate in cases of exceptionally heavy rainfall. Discharges during normal or moderate rainfall conditions are therefore not compliant with these legal obligations.
"3.6 million hours of sewage dumping across 464,000 incidents in 2024"
Used on the National Action page to illustrate the scale of the national sewage scandal.
Source
Environment Agency — Event Duration Monitoring Data 2024; River Action UK
The Environment Agency's EDM data for 2024, as reported by River Action UK and widely covered in national media, recorded approximately 3.6 million hours of sewage discharge across around 464,000 individual overflow events at monitored sites in England and Wales.
"£73 billion paid out to investors since privatisation"
Used on the National Action page to describe the financial context of the water industry crisis.
Source
The Guardian — Water company dividend analysis; Public Services International Research Unit
Multiple analyses of water company financial records, including those by The Guardian and academic researchers, have calculated that since privatisation in 1989, England's water companies have paid out approximately £73 billion in dividends to shareholders. This figure has been widely cited by campaign groups, MPs and media outlets.
Used on the National Action page to describe the worsening state of river pollution in England.
Source
Environment Agency — Water and Sewage Company Performance Report 2023
The Environment Agency's annual performance assessment of water and sewerage companies reported a significant increase in serious pollution incidents (Category 1 and 2) in the most recent reporting period. The EA's own data showed this deterioration in environmental performance across the sector.
Used on the Test Data page as the threshold against which our readings are measured.
Source
The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1675); WHO Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water Environments
The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 set E. coli thresholds for designated bathing waters in England. The "sufficient" quality threshold is 900 colony forming units per 100ml (cfu/100ml). Readings above 900 cfu/100ml indicate water quality that would fail regulatory standards for recreational use. Readings above 2,500 cfu/100ml indicate "poor" quality. These thresholds are used as internationally recognised benchmarks for water quality assessment.
"Surfers Against Sewage documented over 7,000 cases of illness linked to swimming"
Used on the National Action page in the description of Surfers Against Sewage.
Source
Surfers Against Sewage — Safer Seas and Rivers Service Data
Surfers Against Sewage collected self-reported illness data from water users via their Safer Seas and Rivers Service platform. Their published reports document thousands of cases of illness reported by people who had been swimming or surfing at official bathing sites around the UK coastline and rivers.
The figures relating to our water testing results — breach counts, site readings, dry day results — are drawn entirely from our own independent testing programme. The raw data is published in full on the Test Data page. Our methodology follows the accredited citizen science approach developed by Earthwatch and used by Ilkley Clean River Group.
Something Missing?
Challenge us.
If you believe any figure on this website is incorrect, misleading or inadequately sourced, we want to know. Email us at hello@otleycleanriver.org with the specific claim and the evidence. We will review and correct if necessary. A campaign built on evidence cannot afford to get its own evidence wrong.
