![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Rivelin-Pollution-2.png\")
The Rivelin River has been polluted(Image: John Fereday)<\/p>\nA Sheffield river turned brown over the weekend following a burst water main in the areaThe Rivelin River has been polluted(Image: John Fereday)<\/p>\n
Residents have expressed their anger at Yorkshire Water after a burst water main caused a historic and ecologically unique river to turn brown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yorkshire Water<\/a> admitted a burst water main caused the discolouration of Rivelin river in Sheffield <\/a>on Sunday. The river is the only waterway in Sheffield rated ecologically \u201cgood\u201d. It means more wildlife can live there than in any other river in the city.<\/p>\n Siobhan O\u2019Malley, a resident who has enjoyed the valley for more than 20 years, said Yorkshire Water should pay for any damage the burst water main may have caused. \u201cThey really need to fix the systems,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are water leaks all over the city. The reservoirs are incredibly low, which is concerning for us and wildlife. I would like to know where their money goes and why they are not fixing their pipe systems.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot have all this water escaping and chemicals entering our waterways. It’s really upsetting. We need them to start taking account and protecting nature and resources.\u201d Christine King, another resident, said Yorkshire Water has failed to improve the water system, which is resulting in a significant number of burst water mains – causing damage to the rivers and waterways around them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are a private company,” she said. “They are supposed to be monitoring our waterways, and instead they are giving money to their shareholders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good week if we don\u2019t have an incident. It just seems to be one thing after another.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s because of a failure to improve the water system. We have a patchwork of repairs. It isn\u2019t good enough, especially when our water bills are going up and we are paying more.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as reservoirs across Yorkshire have been at historically low levels throughout the summer, with a hosepipe ban in place since mid-July<\/a>. The government banned Nicola Shaw, Yorkshire Water CEO, from receiving a bonus<\/a> last year due to poor performance regarding sewage overflows.<\/p>\n The government has asked Ofwat to investigate \u00a31.3 million in bonus payments to Ms Shaw from Kelda Holdings, Yorkshire Water’s offshore parent company.<\/p>\n Hillsborough<\/a> Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo said Yorkshire Water has shirked its responsibility to look after the waterways and protect the environment. There have been a series of high-profile burst pipes in Sheffield in recent months, including when a burst water main in the city centre cut the water supply to residents across the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cllr Kubo said: \u201cThey are definitely shirking their responsibility to provide upkeep of our waterways. There have been some major burst pipes over the last few years, and they should be maintaining the waterways better.\u201d<\/p>\n The Green Party councillor again called for the nationalisation of the water companies. She said: \u201cWe don’t believe that the bosses should be getting massive bonuses, and the shareholders receiving the profits. If they make any profit, it should be going back into our waterways so we don’t have these incidents polluting our waterways and rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n Email and online newsletter, The Sheffield Drop, highlights the very best news across the Steel City, regardless of the source.<\/p>\n Edited by Yorkshire Live’s Sheffield reporter Andrew Dowdeswell, the free bulletin has no adverts and features the city’s most important news, all curated in an easy-to-read, digestible format.<\/p>\n You can read The Sheffield Drop in two places – on our website, here<\/a>, or delivered straight to your email inbox by subscribing using this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Environment Agency is investigating the incident, but believes the impact on the environment is \u201cminimal\u201d. A spokesperson said: \u201cWe have responded to reports of discolouration on the River Rivelin, in Sheffield. Our officers confirmed the source to be a burst water main, which has now stopped. We would like to thank the members of the public who reported this directly to us on gov.uk or via our hotline on 0800 80 70 60.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: \u201cUnfortunately, we experienced a burst water main in the vicinity of the river Rivelin over the weekend. Our teams are continuing to sample the watercourse and we have informed the Environment Agency. We apologise for the inconvenience of the burst main and are working hard to minimise the visual impact on the watercourse.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are underway with our largest ever investment – \u00a38.3 billion – which will be delivered over the next five years. This includes more than \u00a3400 million to replace over 1,000km of water mains in the region, including in and around Sheffield. This will reduce the likelihood of bursts and leaks in the area as we continue to drive down leakage, which is currently at its lowest level in Yorkshire. \u00a31.5 billion of the investment will help to reduce storm overflows into the region’s watercourses and we have already started work on some of these projects in South Yorkshire.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Rivelin-Pollutionjfif.jpg\")
The pollution his discoloured a lot of the precious river(Image: Christine King)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_Sheffield-Drop-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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