£35M Invested to Clean Up North Yorkshire River

Yorkshire Water has announced a substantial £35 million investment focused on enhancing the water quality of the River Ouse in North Yorkshire. This ambitious scheme, centered at the company's Naburn site, is designed to significantly decrease the amount of phosphorus entering the river. Phosphorus, while harmless in small quantities, can pose a threat to aquatic life and human health when its levels become unmanaged.

The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2028 and will lead to improvements across a 5.6-mile stretch of the River Ouse. Yorkshire Water plans to implement advanced treatment technologies, including ferric dosing, polymer dosing, and magnetite dosing. These methods work collectively to remove phosphorus and other solids from wastewater during the treatment process. This investment is a component of a broader £350 million program that will see 85 phosphorus reduction schemes completed across the region by 2030.