Call for Yorkshire Water to end sewage dumping into river

Lewis Dagnall, who is standing for election in the upcoming Stannington ward by-election ward on Sheffield City Council, highlighted data showing that in 2022 Yorkshire Water spilled sewage 65 times for a total of 183 hours from a sewer overflow system near Roscoe Bank which he described as “antiquated”.

Mr Dagnall and Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake, who is also his wife, have launched a petition calling on the water company to install a modern system and stop sewage spills in the river Rivelin.

He said: “There’s an unacceptable level of sewage dumping in our rivers. Last year, Yorkshire Water dumped equivalent to eight days’ worth of sewage in Rivelin.

“I want to stop this in 2024; I’m calling on Yorkshire Water to invest in their infrastructure, upgrade the antiquated overflow system near Roscoe Bank, and install a modern system to stop the spills.”

See the petition at https://survey.labour.org.uk/rivelin-valley-sewage.

The full list of candidates for the election, which takes place on Thursday, January 18, is Chris Bragg, Green Party; Lewis Dagnall, Labour and Co-operative Party; Rod Rodgers, Liberal Party; Will Sapwell, Liberal Democrats; Ben Woollard, Conservative Party.

There is also an election for the Worrall ward of Bradfield Parish Council taking place on the same day. Candidates are Lewis Dagnall, again standing for Labour and Co-operative Party, and Lynne Morgan, who is the candidate for the Liberal Democrats.