Visiting streets in West Bowling with Yorkshire Water as part of their sewer ‘health checks’, Imran has urged the company to do more to address the problems caused by the reliance on antiquated sewerage systems in the city.

During the visit, Imran joined with engineers from Yorkshire Water to see first-hand the work that is being done by the company as part of a project to address the numerous flooding incidents which have been reported in the local area in recent years, and see how they were repairing damage and assessing the sewers’ condition.

He was also told of the extensive age of some of the sewerage infrastructure in the city, with many parts of the network stretching back up to 100 years and in dire need of urgent repair and replacement to bring it up to modern standards and to help reduce flooding.

Speaking on his visit with Yorkshire Water, Imran said:

“Whilst these sewer health checks are a welcome step and it was great to see first-hand the work being done, it’s still clear that much more needs to be done to address the huge problems, particularly around flooding, that are being caused by a reliance by water companies on an antiquated sewer system that’s more than one hundred years old in some places.

“Far too many residents who live in areas where these decade-old sewer systems are present come to complain and tell me of the repeated blockages that they experience with drains and gullies, with wastewater and sewage backing up into their streets and bringing not just awful sights and smells, but a public health risk that must urgently be addressed.

“We simply cannot rely on such outdated sewer systems to keep our neighbourhoods clean, and we need to see not just a more proactive approach in unblocking the gullies, but a reinvestment of the profits made by water companies back into our infrastructure, and I will be continuing to urge Yorkshire Water to take greater action in this regard.”