Yorkshire Water donates £235,000 to wildlife charity over Harrogate sewage dump
It's after a storm overflow polluted Hookstone Beck in August 2015
Yorkshire Water has agreed to donate £235,000 to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, after sewage was dumped into a beck in Harrogate.
The company breached its environmental permit with an unauthorised sewage discharge from Stray Road combined sewer overflow, which polluted Hookstone Beck.
The permit allows Yorkshire Water to dump sewage when there is rainfall or snow melt, but it was used illegally during dry weather.
Claire Barrow, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said: "Sewage pollution can be devastating to human health, local biodiversity and out environment.
"We are holding the water industry to account like never before and while we will always take forward prosecutions in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements."
Yorkshire Water has since carried out upgrades, allowing it to continually monitor the storm overflow at Hookstone Beck.