Yorkshire Water urges customers to hunt for private pumping stations this Easter

Each customer that locates a previously undiscovered pumping station before the April 16 will be rewarded with an Easter Egg, said Yorkshire Water.

The company, which will become responsible for the stations from October 1 under government legislation, has located 350 across its region so far but said many are still to be identified.

Dave Wilson, transfer manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “The sewage pumping stations literally could be anywhere – in a customer’s garden, on public land next to a house or business, or just on the side of the road. Many are located in private gardens and areas where we do not normally enter which is why we need help from customers to find them.

“It is really important that we find these remaining stations now so we can survey them and make sure they are in full working order before we take ownership of them. That is why we’re asking for customers right across Yorkshire to help us find them and let us know straight away. We will give an Easter Egg as a little present to each customer who helps us find a previously undiscovered pumping station before April 16th 2016.”

The purpose of sewage pumping stations is to pump sewage from homes and businesses along underground sewers to the nearest Yorkshire Water wastewater treatment plant where it is then treated.

The transferred sites could result in savings to customers of up to £1,200 per year in shared energy and maintenance costs.

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s sister title WWTonline