Campaigners have accused Yorkshire Water of negligence after the company secured an emergency drought order to extract additional water from the River Wharfe in Ilkley, a popular swimming spot already plagued by pollution. The Environment Agency approved the permit on Friday, which will allow the company to top up its reservoirs amid a severe drought that has seen reservoir levels drop to 62.9% of capacity, well below the August average of 87.8%.
Local groups, including the Ilkley Clean River Group, have condemned the move, warning it will devastate the river's ecosystem. Professor Becky Malby, from the group, said: 'The less water in the river, the more that pollution is concentrated from agriculture and from sewage, which means the oxygen levels will be low. When it’s warm and the river is in such low flow, the water heats up. This means that the fish in the river will overheat, suffocate and die. It’s a disaster for the environment.'
The River Wharfe gained national attention in 2021 when it became the first river in the country to be granted designated bathing status, following a campaign by wild swimmers. Despite this, it has consistently failed to meet safe bathing standards due to high levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci from sewage and agricultural runoff. The Environment Agency admitted that the permit 'will mean a reduced amount of water in the designated bathing water'.
Critics have also highlighted Yorkshire Water's failure to address long-standing issues, including a lack of reservoir construction—no major reservoir has been built in England for over 30 years—and significant water leakage, with 260 million litres lost daily. Meanwhile, chief executive Nicola Shaw has received £1.3m in undisclosed extra pay since 2023. The company is building new sewers around the river but has been widely criticised for allowing sewage spills.
Ecologist Professor Rick Battarbee warned of dire consequences for the river's wildlife. 'It’s a serious issue, especially for fish potentially trapped in pockets of poor quality water. The river will also have reduced capacity to dilute treated effluent that is continually discharged into the river from sewage treatment works downstream, which means that nutrient pollution becomes more severe and faecal bacteria concentrations will be higher,' he said. He noted that the bathing site is located just 4km downstream of the abstraction point, which will likely worsen its compliance statistics.
Campaigners have called for faster action on water conservation and infrastructure maintenance, arguing that the drought order should not have been necessary. Malby added: 'It is shocking that Yorkshire Water can be allowed to leak 260m litres a day but has been granted a permit to extract 120m litres a day from our river.'
