Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon is calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to make reform of the water industry one of his first priorities in office.
The Liberal Democrat MP's comments come after new analysis of sewage discharge data claimed Yorkshire Water released sewage into local waterways for 3,910 hours across 1,069 separate spills last year.
Mr Gordon has continued to campaign on water quality issues locally, holding meetings with Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and campaign group Nidd Action Group.
He has also highlighted concerns about water quality at Knaresborough Lido on the River Nidd, despite it being designated as bathing water in 2023.
Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Tom Gordon said:
"For years, people across North Yorkshire have watched in anger as rivers like The Nidd have been pumped full of filthy sewage, all while foreign asset managers and corporate executives pocket billions.
"It is an absolute insult to local families that Yorkshire Water is reporting profits while our local environment is routinely trashed and our water bills continue to rise."
The Liberal Democrats are calling for major reforms to the water industry, including placing water companies into special administration before restructuring them into customer-owned mutual organisations.
The party is also proposing replacing Ofwat with a new Clean Water Authority, requiring companies to report the volume of sewage discharged as well as the duration of spills, banning executive bonuses and introducing further measures aimed at increasing accountability.
Tom added:
"Andy Burnham has a clear choice in his first weeks in Number 10: stand up for communities like ours in Harrogate and Knaresborough or let the same broken, polluting system continue.
“We need a clean break from the failed privatisation experiment - wiping the slate clean of vulture capital debt and handing our water infrastructure back to the people who actually use and rely on it."
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