Yorkshire Water

Our partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley | MMB, has completed work to replace almost 1km of sewer in Laxton. The project involved replacing the PVC pipes, which were nearing the end of their lifespan, at Laxton sewage pumping station rising main with tough and durable high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes. This upgrade will improve the resilience of our wastewater network and reduce the risk of bursts or leaks. To learn more about our infrastructure projects, visit: https://ow.ly/5fQI50VkBK2 Pictured: Photos of the site during the work.

This International Day of Happiness, our Social Media Coordinator Guy asked a few of our lovely colleagues around the office what makes them happy. 🥰

Today, our regulator Ofwat has finished its wastewater investigation and has detailed a £40m redress package which we will be investing into Yorkshire. This package includes a £36.6m investment over the next five years to reduce discharges from storm overflows. We’ll be investing in overflows that were due to receive investment from 2030-35 so we’ll be improving their performance sooner. We know our overflows operate more frequently than we, or our customers, would like them to, please be assured we’re committed to doing better. We’ve been addressing the issues that were identified during the investigation and have completed work at 70 storm overflows to reduce discharges. Over the next five years we’ll be starting work on our largest ever environmental investment programme, including £1.5bn to reduce storm overflow discharges. The £36.6m announced today will be in addition to that. The package also includes £3.4m to support the Great Yorkshire Rivers Partnership to remove barriers for fish in Yorkshire’s rivers, improving river quality and biodiversity in the area, as well as reconnecting up to 500km of rivers. Their spokesperson said: “We welcome the additional funding that supports the vision of our Partnership that aims to deliver real change within the Yorkshire landscape. Our mission is to address all significant barriers to fish migration in Yorkshire’s rivers.  This helps nature restore natural river processes, improve water quality and promote biodiversity to create better blue spaces for both nature and people. By reinvesting this money in Yorkshire, even more projects will be delivered by Great Yorkshire Rivers partners across the county to support the recovery of our native fish species.” To read more about this, visit: https://ow.ly/6nA250VlcII The Rivers Trust

💙 Happy Holi to everyone celebrating! We asked our colleague Netaben to share a bit about the festival, what it means to her and how she’ll be taking part this year. If you’re celebrating the festival, we’ve love to know what you’ve got planned. ⬇️

Last week, our Women & Gender Network held an event to celebrate International Women’s Day! 💙 During the event, colleagues came together to listen to some brilliant guest speakers, including inspiring women in the industry, as well as other activities reflecting on experiences. It was a great day to celebrate women and allies, as well as provide an safe space to have open and honest discussions. 📷 Take a look through the photos from the day below! If you attended an event to celebrate International Women’s Day, we’d love to know! 👇

Our smart meter exchange has already hit the 10,000 milestone after just two months of being launched in Sheffield. We’re working with our partner Morrison Water Services on the five-year roll-out, which will result in 1.4 million water meters exchanged across the whole of Yorkshire. Smart meters are the next step in water meter technology, where they will help to save water, spot leaks, and help customers to save money. The technology will give us the opportunity to capture readings digitally in near real-time without manual readings and give us a greater visibility of what is happening across the network with hourly readings to help us detect leaks early, before they become bursts. This is part of our commitment to halve leakage across the network by 2050. Customers will also be able to use the smart meters to see their daily, weekly, and monthly water usage on their online account.   For information go to; https://ow.ly/qngL50VfI9o

🔧 To celebrate World Plumbing Day we asked our Water Regulations Inspector Emma to show us a few days in the life of her role. 🎥 Watch as Emma takes us to different sites, including a farm and a golf club, to make sure they meet water safety standards. 🤓 She’ll also be inspiring the next generation of plumbers with a visit to Leeds College.

Our partner Sapphire Utility Solutions Ltd has completed work in Hoylandswaine, South Yorkshire, to reduce the number of discharges into Ellhirst Beck. The project involved lining 1km of sewer in the area near Hoylandswaine wastewater treatment works to reduce levels of groundwater infiltration into the sewer network. The lining helps lower the volume of the flows in the sewer, reducing the need for the storm overflow to operate, which in turn helps protect homes and businesses from flooding. Work is also underway at Hoylandswaine wastewater treatment works to reduce the levels of Phosphorus in treated wastewater returned to the environment. This scheme is part of a region-wide project to remove Phosphorus under the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). To see what else we’re working on to improve our overflows, take a look at our map: https://ow.ly/oJPX50VeNkl To learn more about our other infrastructure projects, visit: https://ow.ly/Z7BO50VeNkk

It’s International Women’s Day, so we wanted to introduce you to our Women and Gender Network! ✨ We asked our lovely colleague and Chair, Emma, to tell us a little bit about it and how she’s working to make it a safe and open space where colleagues can feel comfortable. Have a read below to find out more! 💙 Have you taken part in any International Women’s Day activities or events? We’d love to know. 👇

Our partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley | MMB is working on phase two of a project in Pool-in-Wharfedale to reduce the number of discharges into the river Wharfe. They are continuing to line 2km of the network to reduce the amount of surface water and groundwater getting into the network. From this, the flow in the sewer will be lower, which will reduce discharges into the watercourse during heavy or prolonged rainfall. This scheme is due to be completed later this month and will help to improve the water quality in the river Wharfe. Work was also recently completed on the drinking water network in Pool-in-Wharfedale, where our teams replaced 1.4km of water mains to improve the resilience of the network and increase the pressure. For more information, visit: https://ow.ly/gMGQ50VaRZq To see what else we’re working on to improve our overflows, take a look at our map: https://ow.ly/gl8e50VaRZr To learn more about our general infrastructure projects, visit: https://ow.ly/Bkfy50VaRZp