A NEW interactive map has been created to show in almost real-time where and when sewage is spilled into York waterways.

Storm overflows occur when water companies pump sewage water back into waterways to prevent drains from backing up into homes. The action is typically taken during periods of heavy rainfall.

As The Press previously reported, storm overflow events in the York area rose by 57.7 per cent in 2023 compared to the year before.

Yorkshire Water has now created an interactive map to show the operation of storm overflows, almost in real time.

The map is being launched ahead of the 2024 bathing water season, which runs from May 14 to September 30. It aims to provide the most up-to-date information for those intending to swim in bodies of water.

Ben Roche, director of wastewater at Yorkshire Water, said: "We’re pleased to be launching our interactive map and hope it will increase transparency for our customers, who understandably are interested in the operation of overflows within their local area, and across the region. 

"All of our storm overflows are featured on the map with near real-time discharge data, showing the live status of the overflow and when they last discharged to the watercourse. All the data will be available to anyone accessing the map.

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"We have decided to launch now, ahead of the bathing water season to ensure customers are better informed about our operations in their area.

"The data isn’t perfect and the instruments themselves can be unavailable from time to time as they are often only as reliable as the communication networks that serve some of the remote locations we have, but we are continuing to work to refine the map and our validation processes."

Yorkshire Water said its work to improve overflows was ongoing. It said that countering storm overflows would require replumbing the whole of Yorkshire and would be "significantly" disruptive.

Mr Roche added: "But we are investing £180 million by the end of April 2025 to tackle 134 of the more frequently discharging overflows.

"We have already completed work on some of these, have 62 projects currently being delivered or due to start in the coming months and we have made information on these proposed improvements available on our website."

Yorkshire Water also announced that it has submitted its plan for 2025 to 2030 to Ofwat, which details a £1.19 billion investment in further reducing storm overflow discharges.

The map can be found online, via the link here.