Yorkshire Water’s Corporate Affairs Manager and one of its River Health Team Managers will join the next Full Council meeting to discuss sewage discharges into local rivers and plans to improve river health.
It will be on Monday 9 November at 6pm but the usual meeting venue, Ripon Town Hall, has a fire safety capacity set by North Yorkshire Council of 60 people, including councillors and staff, so they are gauging interest to see whether a larger venue is needed.
Full council and committee meetings are always open to the public, with city councillors always pleased to welcome residents to hear questions about the Council’s work – including its efforts to protect Ripon’s rivers.
You should email [email protected], indicating how many people may attend. No firm commitment is needed, this simply helps to plan suitable arrangements.
The venue will be confirmed by the 4th November at www.riponcity.gov.uk.
Yorkshire Water has admitted a £1.5m scheme to reduce storm overflow discharges into the River Ure has not performed as expected.
When the investment was announced in 2024, the company said the scheme would reduce the issue by about 75%.
But it 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 about 43%.
The company has described the result as “disappointing”, but stressed that comparing individual years was complicated by rainfall levels.