YORKSHIRE Water says more untreated waste water will be retained in tanks, as opposed to spilling down the overflow, at its treatment site in Ilkley thanks to a newly installed pump.

The move follows complaints from local residents about raw sewage spilling down the overflow at the Ashlands Road waste water treatment site and into the River Wharfe.

Over the summer residents have documented raw sewage, including solid waste and sanitary products, polluting the beauty spot after just a few minutes of rain.

Yorkshire Water said the amount released from its site was within the conditions permitted by the Environment Agency (EA) but campaigners have called for a tightening of controls.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth (Ind, Ilkley) wrote to the chief executive of Yorkshire Water highlighting concerns and on Friday attended a meeting at YW to discuss the situation.

She said: “It was a very positive meeting. They told me they are looking into all options to reduce the amount of debris that comes out of outfall but these are limited and will never be 100 per cent effective in removing every single piece of debris.

“The new pump being able to pump extra flow to the storm tanks means that this will assist in minimising the amount of debris in the river as the spills will occur less often and for shorter durations.”

She added: “The new pump is clearly a step forward if not a complete solution but appears to be a definite improvement on the Environment Agency requirements currently.”

Catchment manager Chris Page said “We understand the concerns raised by local residents and we recently met with Cllr Hawkesworth to explain how the treatment plant on Ashland Road works. When we get heavy rainfall, particularly when the ground is dry, our overflow operates to act as a relief valve on the sewer system to prevent homes from flooding. We have recently installed an extra pump at the treatment works to reduce the amount of waste water that would go down the overflow and keep it on site to be treated.”

Yorkshire Water reminds customers to only flush the three Ps - pee, poo and paper.