THE chief executive of Yorkshire Water has said she is “extremely disappointed” – after it emerged the company was one of three responsible for the vast majority of the most serious pollution incidents last year.

The Environment Agency assesses all pollution incidents from water firms into categories – with category one (major) and category two (significant) being the most serious, presenting a highly negative impact on wildlife, ecosystems and swimmers.

According to data released by the Environment Agency today, 75 category one and two incidents were recorded in 2024 – up from 47 serious incidents the previous year.

Three water firms – Thames Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water – were responsible for 81 per cent of the serious incidents, according to the findings.

Thames Water was responsible for 33, Southern Water for 15 and Yorkshire Water for 13.

Responding to the data, Nicola Shaw, chief executive of Bradford-based Yorkshire Water, said: “Our performance in this area in 2024 was not good enough. 

“We are extremely disappointed as we take our responsibility for the environment very seriously.

“We investigated each serious incident in detail to understand root causes and we are investing in our infrastructure, have employed more people and made significant changes to a range of processes and procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“These internal investigations form a key part of our pollution improvement plan to tackle this complex problem, alongside better use of technology to increase the information we get about our underground network.

“This information provides early warnings so we can act before pollutions occur.

“Looking ahead, we are investing £8.3 billion over the next five years – an average of £3.2 million every day – to improve service levels, cut pollution and make Yorkshire’s water infrastructure fit for the future.

“This reflects our long-term commitment to delivering better outcomes for customers, communities and the environment across the region.”

Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “This report demonstrates continued systemic failure by some companies to meet their environmental targets.

“The water industry must act urgently to prevent pollution from occurring and to respond rapidly when it does.

“We have made significant changes to tighten our regulation of the water industry and ensure companies are held to account.

“With a dedicated larger workforce and increased funding, our officers are uncovering and acting on failures to comply with environmental law.”