Yorkshire Water has admitted a £1.5m scheme aimed at dramatically reducing storm overflow discharges into the River Ure in Ripon has not performed as expected.
The water company said the number of recorded discharges from its Clock Tower combined sewer overflow (CSO), near the Ripon by-pass bridge, fell from 75 in 2021 to 43 in 2025 – a reduction of around 43 per cent.
However, when the investment was announced in 2024, Yorkshire Water said the work was expected to reduce discharges from the overflow by 75 per cent.
The company has described the result as “disappointing”, although it stressed that comparing individual years was complicated by rainfall levels, with 2025 being particularly dry.
The figures have emerged after members of the Green Party in Ripon called for answers about the performance of the scheme following separate concerns about water quality in the River Ure.
Recent testing by campaign group Stop Ure Pollution and the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust further upstream has raised concerns about bacteria and other pollution in the river.
The Skipton and Ripon branch of the North Yorkshire Green Party has now submitted an Environmental Information Regulations request seeking information held by Yorkshire Water about the performance of the Clock Tower scheme and changes in discharges following work carried out in 2025.
Cllr Andy Brown said:
“The levels of sewage going into our rivers is deeply disgusting and the latest testing further upstream is far from reassuring.”
“It’s a reminder that Yorkshire Water made a very specific commitment in Ripon. They said they’d invest £1.5m and achieve 75% less sewage in our river. But did they deliver? Let’s have the evidence out in the open.”
“If it’s achieved the promised improvement, I take my hat off to them and ask for more of the same. If it hasn’t, we need to know the plan, and it had better be a good one.”
Yorkshire Water said the expected 75 per cent reduction had been calculated using 2021 event duration monitoring data, when the overflow discharged 75 times.
A spokesperson said:
“In 2025, the year in which the upgrades to this asset were completed, the CSO discharged 43 times – around a 43% reduction.”
“Of course, this was a particularly dry year, which will have further contributed to a decrease in discharges.”
“As such, whilst there has been a reduction, the scheme did not perform as expected, which is disappointing.”
The company said it was now investigating further projects in Ripon as part of a wider £1.5bn investment programme aimed at reducing storm overflow use.
It added:
“We know there is much more to do to protect local watercourses.”
Combined sewer overflows are designed as pressure-relief points on sewer networks which carry both wastewater and rainwater.
During heavy rainfall, they can discharge into watercourses to prevent overloaded sewers backing up into homes, businesses and streets.
Such discharges can be permitted by the Environment Agency under specified circumstances.
Cllr Brown said local campaigners and organisations, including Stop Ure Pollution, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and Ripon City Council, would continue pressing for improvements.
He added:
“Yorkshire Water must play its part. It must act, and it must deliver the facts – straight-up and undiluted.”
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