Subject: FOI Request - Holmes Halls Processors - Use of Public Sewers for Discharge of Affluent Water

Reference Number: EIR 966

Dear Eka Fallon,

The Yorkshire Water Services Ltd Data Protection Team acknowledges your
request on 19 February for information regarding:

“All engineering and inspection reports related to the discharge of
affluent water into the public sewers by Holmes Halls Processors,
including any relevant assessments or evaluations conducted by your
organisation.

Any records of violations or non-compliance identified by Yorkshire Water
regarding this discharge, along with details of the steps taken to address
such violations.

Any reports or findings related to odour complaints or concerns linked to
the discharge from Holmes Halls Processors, including any investigations
or actions taken in response.

Documentation regarding any pressure build-ups or other operational issues
within the sewer system associated with the discharge of affluent water by
Holmes Halls Processors.

A record of any regulatory actions or enforcement measures taken by
Yorkshire Water in relation to the discharge, including formal notices,
penalties, or any other interventions.”

We will respond to your request for information in compliance with the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The Regulations allow us 20 working days to respond to a request from the
date of its receipt.  However, occasionally it is necessary to extend the
20-working-day time limit for issuing a response if the complexity and
volume of the information makes it impractical for us to respond within
the original deadline.  If this is the case we will notify you of this
delay.

You will be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying copies
of the information. We will also provide you with an explanation if we are
unable to disclose and respond to your request.  If the requested
information contains references to any third parties, we may need to
consult with them before deciding whether to release the information.

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please feel free to
contact us quoting reference EIR 966.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection Team

Email: [1][email address]

Want to know a bit more about Yorkshire Water? Our website is full of
useful info, from how to apply for a water meter to planning your next
walk at one of our beautiful reservoirs - it’s all at yorkshirewater.com

Need to talk to us? For the best way to get in touch with us, go to
yorkshirewater.com/contact

Now the legal stuff! The information and any files sent as part of this
email are confidential, possibly legally privileged and for the
addressee’s attention only. If you’ve wrongly received this email, please
reply to it to let the sender know and delete it from your computer. Just
to confirm, this email isn’t a binding offer, acceptance, amendment,
waiver or any agreement or obligation – unless this is clearly stated in
the email.

We need to let you know that the content is subject to the legal notice at
yorkshirewater.com/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy. Any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken based on its contents, is prohibited
and may be unlawful.

Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Registered Office Western House, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2SZ
Registered in England and Wales No 2366682

References

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Reference Number: EIR 966

Dear Eka Fallon,

I refer to your request for information submitted to Yorkshire Water dated
19 February 2025.  

We are current unable to respond to your request as we required additional
clarification as to what information you would like to receive.  Please
can you clarify the following points:

• Please can you confirm the timeframe of the information that you are
requesting.

• In regards to “All engineering and inspection reports related to the
discharge of affluent water into the public sewers by Holmes Halls
Processors, including any relevant assessments or evaluations
conducted by your organisation”. Please can you clarify the
information being sought as this is open to interpretation, do you for
example require information on visits and/or samples? Any further
clarification will help ensure we collate the information you are
requesting.

• In regards to “If there are any other relevant records or information
you believe may be useful in relation to this request, I would
appreciate it if you could include that as well.” Please can you
clarify what further information you are referencing for this point.

Please can you provide the requested clarification at the earliest
opportunity, we are unable to progress your request until we receive your
clarification.

Thank you for contacting Yorkshire Water.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection Team

Email: [1][email address]

Want to know a bit more about Yorkshire Water? Our website is full of
useful info, from how to apply for a water meter to planning your next
walk at one of our beautiful reservoirs - it’s all at yorkshirewater.com

Need to talk to us? For the best way to get in touch with us, go to
yorkshirewater.com/contact

Now the legal stuff! The information and any files sent as part of this
email are confidential, possibly legally privileged and for the
addressee’s attention only. If you’ve wrongly received this email, please
reply to it to let the sender know and delete it from your computer. Just
to confirm, this email isn’t a binding offer, acceptance, amendment,
waiver or any agreement or obligation – unless this is clearly stated in
the email.

We need to let you know that the content is subject to the legal notice at
yorkshirewater.com/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy. Any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken based on its contents, is prohibited
and may be unlawful.

Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Registered Office Western House, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2SZ
Registered in England and Wales No 2366682

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]

Reference Number: EIR 966

Dear Eka Fallon,

I refer to your request for information submitted to Yorkshire Water dated
19 February 2025, for information:

“I am writing to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in relation to
the use of public sewers by Holmes Halls Processors in Hull to discharge
affluent water.

I would like to request the following information regarding this matter:

All engineering and inspection reports related to the discharge of affluent
water into the public sewers by Holmes Halls Processors, including any relevant
assessments or evaluations conducted by your organisation.

Any records of violations or non-compliance identified by Yorkshire Water
regarding this discharge, along with details of the steps taken to address such
violations.

Any reports or findings related to odour complaints or concerns linked to the
discharge from Holmes Halls Processors, including any investigations or actions
taken in response.

Documentation regarding any pressure build-ups or other operational issues
within the sewer system associated with the discharge of affluent water by
Holmes Halls Processors.

A record of any regulatory actions or enforcement measures taken by Yorkshire
Water in relation to the discharge, including formal notices, penalties, or any
other interventions.

If there are any other relevant records or information you believe may be useful
in relation to this request, I would appreciate it if you could include that as
well.”

You made your request for information citing the Freedom of Information
Act 2000, as a private water utility company Yorkshire Water is not bound
by the terms of this Act, we considered your request in compliance with
the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, which do apply to
Yorkshire Water.

We requested the below clarification for your request on the 6 March 2025:

• Please can you confirm the timeframe of the information that you are
requesting.

• In regards to “All engineering and inspection reports related to the
discharge of affluent water into the public sewers by Holmes Halls
Processors, including any relevant assessments or evaluations
conducted by your organisation”. Please can you clarify the
information being sought as this is open to interpretation, do you for
example require information on visits and/or samples? Any further
clarification will help ensure we collate the information you are
requesting.

• In regards to “If there are any other relevant records or information
you believe may be useful in relation to this request, I would
appreciate it if you could include that as well.” Please can you
clarify what further information you are referencing for this point.

We have not yet received the above clarification and we are at this time
refusing your request for information following Regulation 12(4)(c) of the
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004, within the scope of
which your request has been considered.  We welcome you to submit a new
request which includes the clarifications previously requested above. 
This would be treated as a new EIR request.

In accordance with the EIR 2004, if you are not satisfied with the reply
to your request you can ask for an internal review.  A request for an
internal review must be submitted within 40 working days by contacting the
Data Protection Team.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review you have
the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted
at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113

Web: http://www.ico.org.uk

Thank you for contacting Yorkshire Water.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection Team

Email: [1][email address]

Want to know a bit more about Yorkshire Water? Our website is full of
useful info, from how to apply for a water meter to planning your next
walk at one of our beautiful reservoirs - it’s all at yorkshirewater.com

Need to talk to us? For the best way to get in touch with us, go to
yorkshirewater.com/contact

Now the legal stuff! The information and any files sent as part of this
email are confidential, possibly legally privileged and for the
addressee’s attention only. If you’ve wrongly received this email, please
reply to it to let the sender know and delete it from your computer. Just
to confirm, this email isn’t a binding offer, acceptance, amendment,
waiver or any agreement or obligation – unless this is clearly stated in
the email.

We need to let you know that the content is subject to the legal notice at
yorkshirewater.com/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy. Any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken based on its contents, is prohibited
and may be unlawful.

Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Registered Office Western House, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2SZ
Registered in England and Wales No 2366682

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]

Reference Number: EIR 983

Dear Eka Fallon,

The Yorkshire Water Services Ltd Data Protection Team acknowledges your
request on 20 March for information.

We will respond to your request for information in compliance with the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The Regulations allow us 20 working days to respond to a request from the
date of its receipt.  However, occasionally it is necessary to extend the
20-working-day time limit for issuing a response if the complexity and
volume of the information makes it impractical for us to respond within
the original deadline.  If this is the case we will notify you of this
delay.

You will be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying copies
of the information. We will also provide you with an explanation if we are
unable to disclose and respond to your request.  If the requested
information contains references to any third parties, we may need to
consult with them before deciding whether to release the information.

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please feel free to
contact us quoting reference EIR 983.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection Team

Email: [1][email address]

Want to know a bit more about Yorkshire Water? Our website is full of
useful info, from how to apply for a water meter to planning your next
walk at one of our beautiful reservoirs - it’s all at yorkshirewater.com

Need to talk to us? For the best way to get in touch with us, go to
yorkshirewater.com/contact

Now the legal stuff! The information and any files sent as part of this
email are confidential, possibly legally privileged and for the
addressee’s attention only. If you’ve wrongly received this email, please
reply to it to let the sender know and delete it from your computer. Just
to confirm, this email isn’t a binding offer, acceptance, amendment,
waiver or any agreement or obligation – unless this is clearly stated in
the email.

We need to let you know that the content is subject to the legal notice at
yorkshirewater.com/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy. Any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken based on its contents, is prohibited
and may be unlawful.

Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Registered Office Western House, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2SZ
Registered in England and Wales No 2366682

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]

Reference Number: EIR 983

Dear Eka Fallon,

We refer to your request for information submitted to Yorkshire Water
dated 20 March 2025:

“Holmes Halls Processors - Use of Public Sewers for Discharge of Affluent Water,
information to cover the timeframe 2023 to present:”

Please see below our responses to your EIR questions:

 1. All engineering and inspection reports related to the discharge of
affluent water into the public sewers by Holmes Halls Processors,
including any relevant assessments or evaluations conducted by your
organisation. All visits and samples during this time period.

Please find attached a spreadsheet with the sample results from 2023 until
present. When we visit site we check the discharge and that the equipment
is operating correctly.

We noted one minor fail for COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) on the 10^th
January 2024 which we responded to with a warning letter in accordance
with our Enforcement Policy, no further action was taken or deemed
necessary.

 2. Any records of violations or non-compliance identified by Yorkshire
Water regarding this discharge, along with details of the steps taken
to address such violations.

Please see our response to question 1.

 3. Any reports or findings related to odour complaints or concerns linked
to the discharge from Holmes Halls Processors, including any
investigations or actions taken in response.

We received four contacts from the surrounding area reporting odour
issue.  Following three of these contacts investigations were raised and
our feedback refers to ongoing issues at the Tannery being the source.

The issue was traced to a Tannery factor on Sculcoates Lane/Air Street the
factory makes leather and the whole area smells due to the process of how
this factory makes this leather. The smell is in the air and was venting
from a highways gully. We engaged our Trade Effluent Team due to the
discharge into the sewer’s, Hull City Council asked us to clean the main
sewer but due to the high volumes of gas in the network this cannot be
done. To clean the sewer would involve jetting with full breathing
equipment and the street venting but due to the discharge from the factory
the gas would be back within a week.

Please note, the highway gully is the responsibility of the council.

There was a further investigation undertaken on 11^th March this year by
our Trade Effluent Team to ascertain odour levels in the sewer network and
found that gases were present in an inspection chamber approximately 200
meters to the south of Air street with a reading of 35 ppm H2S. However
this inspection cover was tightly sealed on not venting to atmosphere. We
extended our survey to the North West of Holmes Hall on to Sculcoates lane
and tested the sewer atmosphere again over a duration of approximately 30
minutes and detected no harmful gas or odour.

We can further advise you that we are continuing to engage with all
relevant stakeholders in regard to odour issues in this area. We are
currently in the process of planning a large scale sewer clean, due to the
complexity of this proposed work we do not yet have a set date.

 4. Documentation regarding any pressure build-ups or other operational
issues within the sewer system associated with the discharge of
affluent water by Holmes Halls Processors.

In response to this question we can confirm we do not hold any
information. As such for the purpose of EIR we applied exemption 12(4)(a),
a public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that
it does not hold that information when an applicant’s request is received.

 5. A record of any regulatory actions or enforcement measures taken by
Yorkshire Water in relation to the discharge, including formal
notices, penalties, or any other interventions.

Please refer to our response for question 1.

 6. If there are any other relevant records or information you believe may
be useful in relation to this request, I would appreciate it if you
could include that as well. Investigations you have launched for any
non-compliance with outcomes.

Please refer to our response for question 1.

I trust that the provision of this data satisfies your request.  In
accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, if you are
not satisfied with this reply to your request you can ask for an internal
review.  A request for an internal review must be submitted within 40
working days by contacting the Data Protection Team.

Thank you for contacting Yorkshire Water.

Yours sincerely,

Data Protection Team

Email: [1][email address]

Want to know a bit more about Yorkshire Water? Our website is full of
useful info, from how to apply for a water meter to planning your next
walk at one of our beautiful reservoirs - it’s all at yorkshirewater.com

Need to talk to us? For the best way to get in touch with us, go to
yorkshirewater.com/contact

Now the legal stuff! The information and any files sent as part of this
email are confidential, possibly legally privileged and for the
addressee’s attention only. If you’ve wrongly received this email, please
reply to it to let the sender know and delete it from your computer. Just
to confirm, this email isn’t a binding offer, acceptance, amendment,
waiver or any agreement or obligation – unless this is clearly stated in
the email.

We need to let you know that the content is subject to the legal notice at
yorkshirewater.com/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy. Any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken based on its contents, is prohibited
and may be unlawful.

Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Registered Office Western House, Halifax Road, Bradford, BD6 2SZ
Registered in England and Wales No 2366682

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]