Yorkshire Water boss steps down after one-star Environment Agency rating for 'poorly performing company'

Yorkshire Water boss steps down after one-star Environment Agency rating for 'poorly performing company' Nicola Shaw, chief executive of Yorkshire Water, has stepped down from her role just 24 hours after the firm was described as a 'poorly performing company' and given a one-star rating by the Environment Agency Yorkshire Water's chief executive has stepped down after the firm received the lowest possible rating of one star from the Environment Agency. Nicola Shaw, who has led the firm since 2022, announced her decision to leave her role just 24 hours after Yorkshire Water was described as a ‘poorly performing company’. The Environment Agency gave it a one-star rating, pointing out it had 335 pollution incidents in 2025, including 13 serious ones. But James Richardson, from campaign group 'Top of the Poops' told The Mirror: "Yorkshire Water is not alone in polluting the waterways of the UK. Since 2020, sewage has flowed continuously for more than 24 million hours into rivers, streams, and seas in the UK. Its the equivalent of more than 2,000 years of continuous pollution. "The entire industry is itself polluted - extracting value from the common good - the land around us - and landing over £65bn into the pockets of largely overseas shareholders. Despite drought conditions, the water industry leaks more than 2,500 million litres of water per day - this is 19% of the entire water supply . The government needs to act swiftly and decisively to nationalise the industry rather than continue on its path of unending equivocation and paralysis." Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has summoned water industry bosses to Whitehall after the damning report, which revealed companies were still pumping polluton into Britain’s waterways at “unacceptable” rates. The watchdog rated eight of the nine water companies in England as “poor” or “requiring improvement”. They received just 16 out of a possible 36 stars in its 2025 Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA). Of the nine companies assessed, four were rated as poor performing, receiving one star: Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, South West Water, and Thames Water. Four others; United Utilities, Wessex Water, Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, all received two stars - indicating that improvement is required. Severn Trent Water was the only company to achieve the maximum four-star rating. Hours after the news, Ms Shaw stepped down saying she was "proud" at what her colleagues at Yorkshire Water had achieved. The company serves more than five million people and was fined £1.2 million last year for the pollution incidents while the average bills for customers in the region rose by about 30% in April 2025 and by a further 5.6 per cent in April of this year. Ms Shaw, who has worked for HS1 Ltd and National Grid, received a CBE for services to transport in 2016. She will be replaced by Nicola Medalova, a chartered environmental health officer who previously worked for the National Grid. In a statement on Friday, the under-fire CEO said it had been a "privilege" to lead the company but that it was "the right time" to leave her post. On Thursday, the Environment Agency gave the firm one star out of four - its lowest possible rating which means it was classed as a "poorly performing company". In 2024, Ofwat announced it was fining the company £47m for historic sewage leaks. In her statement, Nicola Shaw said: "It has been a privilege to lead Yorkshire Water and serve the people of Yorkshire. Although there remains a huge amount of work to do, I am extremely proud of what our colleagues have achieved, putting the business on a stronger footing for delivery across all aspects of its work." Yorkshire Water said the new boss would join the company on Monday as part of a transition period before assuming the chief executive officer role full time in the new year. Nicola Medalova said: "I am delighted to be joining Yorkshire Water and grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead the business through its next chapter. "Yorkshire Water faces huge challenges but also great opportunities for continued improvement and I look forward to working with Nicola Shaw, the leadership team and colleagues across the business as I get up to speed." The EA report said their results "expose the scale of underperformance across the sector. Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency wrote: "Water and sewerage companies continue to fall well short of the standards rightly demanded by both us and the public. "