The Malton, Norton and Old Malton Pumping Plan is an operational plan that sets out the actions of the Multi Agency Partnership of Yorkshire Water, North Yorkshire Council, and the Environment Agency, in response to the regular flooding events in the towns of Malton and Norton, and the village of Old Malton. The Partnership receives additional practical support from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and North Yorkshire Police.
This ‘temporary’ plan has evolved over the last twelve years into the default emergency response to the flooding which occurs with increasing frequency and regularity. The ’emergency’ aspect of the plan relates to the need to activate and operate the pumping plan at speed because the permanent engineering solutions proposed by consulting engineers, Arup, in 2015, designed to end dependence on the disruption-causing pumping plan, have been ignored.
Many of the flooding problems experienced by the towns today result from the way the flood defences were constructed in 2003, which trap and prevent surface water from draining into the river.
The Arup report 2015, Executive Summary states:
“Sewer flooding from the overloaded combined sewer network makes it particularly unpleasant for the residents and businesses affected;
The residual risk of surface water flooding in Malton, Norton and Old Malton is potentially too high for the emergency response procedures developed bythe Multi-Agency group to fully make sense as a long-term solution, if an economically viable investment now (October 2015) could save costs in the longer term;
Relying on temporary pumping in emergencies is not an ideal arrangement because:
- the pumps are not absolutely guaranteed to be available when required;
2. there are no formal ‘well’ points connected into the drainage systems in which to deploy them;
3. the arrangements still result in disruption to local residents and the local transport network.”
One of the most disturbing aspects of the Malton and Norton pumping plan, and a fact that is generally hidden from public view, is that it pumps the contents of the Yorkshire Water combined sewers into the river. Up to twenty portable pumps (plus the tankers in the photo) were deployed from early November 2023, to end February 2024, to fire the contents of the Yorkshire Water sewers into the river Derwent. The river Derwent is “designated a nationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its importance in supporting a wide range of plants and animals.” Source: Natural England.
None of the extra sewage pollution caused by the multi-agency pumping plan is monitored or regulated. If you think the Yorkshire Water sewage spill data listed on this website is bad, add to that the tonnes of sewage pumped into the river by the pumping plan.
There is no escaping the fact that the multi-agency partnership of North Yorkshire Council, Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water is knowingly and deliberately polluting the river Derwent by operating the ‘temporary’ plan. It is time for change.
FACT: Yorkshire Water pumps raw sewage (untreated sewage) into the river Derwent SSSI from its combined sewer on Church Street, Norton via permanent pipes under the railway line. Yorkshire Water is polluting the environment rather than upgrade its sewerage system.
Yorkshire Water sewage ‘spill’ data for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Environment Agency EDM Records (Links to individual years)
Malton, Norton and Old Malton Pumping Plan and the Arup report