The temperature is rising in the Ilkley Community again as Ofwat renegades on its previous promise that customers will not pay twice, hiking bills in Yorkshire by an eye watering 41% [before inflation] to bail out water companies who have asset stripped our water infrastructure for profit.
Our Water Bill is one of the highest bill rises in the country, despite fines for poor performance, investigations for illegal activity, and 516,386 hours of raw sewage being dumped in our rivers. YW is serving 6265M debt and paid £84.1M dividends last year alone. In return we get 32% reduction in raw sewage dumping, on a figure that has risen dramatically in recent years. 
Ilkley residents are furious that they have been let down by the water companies and the regulators. Whilst Ilkley is set to secure new measures to clean up the river as a result of vociferous local campaigning, this must not mask the damage done across the rivers in Yorkshire Water, and the exploitation of the public who have been required to pay water bills, whilst water companies abused the monopoly system to sacrifice our rivers lakes and seas for profit.
 
“We are shocked that, even though we are already paying bills on a par with the most expensive places in Europe, whilst getting one of the worst services that is polluting our waterways and overseeing a crumbling sewage infrastructure; Ofwat has decided we must send good money after bad and pay more. This is an incredulous situation that whilst every water company is failing its performance targets, and every water company is under criminal investigation by the regulators, Ofwat is colluding with the myth that the customer has not paid enough. Water companies have failed to maintain our sewage infrastructure, have failed to protect our rivers, lakes and seas, and have, in a really predictable safe environment of a monopoly industry, landed us with extraordinary debt to service thier profit. iI is unbelievable in that context the answer is that the public pays more, whilst the water industry promises nothing to secure our water system for now or the future”
Becky Malby, Chair Ilkley Clean River Group
The Ilkley group, a member of the national Sewage Campaign Network, is calling for the government to stop the bill rises and suspend Ofwat’s price review until water companies are fully compliant with the law, are meeting their performance targets and the government’s review of water industry finances is complete.