Yorkshire Water's shocking record on bills

I find this promise very difficult to believe considering Yorkshire Water's track record over the past ten years.

Sewage charges levied by Yorkshire Water have gone up by 112.8 per cent in a period when the cost of living went up by only 37 per cent.

In nine out of the last ten years increases in Yorkshire Water charges to York citizens exceed the rate of inflation by significant amounts.

Mr Cox also states that the take-over of York Waterworks will help provide security of supply for the city. Mr Cox should know that the River Ouse has always provided York with a secure source of water. I suspect the take-over has more to do with securing the supply for other areas of Yorkshire, at York's expense.

It is a pity York citizens had no say in this take-over, which has been presented to them as a 'done deed'. With Yorkshire Water's appalling record of incompetence I am sure they would have rejected it.

A S Wilson,

Hunters Way,

York.

...some time ago a friend was thinking of getting water butts to keep rainwater for garden use. I said that everyone had them when I was much younger. I read in a newspaper about a water board that had successfully sued someone for collecting water in this manner - on his own property! It cost him money.

As Yorkshire Water is now advertising butts in their brochures accompanying their bills, I would like them to declare publicly that they will not attempt to extract extra money from those buying butts, as boards obtain extra for having water hoses in some parts of the country.

The water board concerned in the case mentioned, stated that the water fall in their area belonged to that water board. They won their case.

Why? What are the buyers of butts committing themselves to?

Gordon Ross,

Huntington Road,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.