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Water companies dumped raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters in England more than 400,000 times last year, data from the Environment Agency (EA) revealed.
Untreated human effluents were discharged into rivers and seas for a total of 3.1 million hours through storm overflow pipes that are supposed to be used only in extreme climates to relieve pressure on the sewer system.
The data is released for the first time as a result of pressure exerted on EA, water companies and the government on the extent of wastewater pollution in rivers.
2019 data released by The Guardian last year showed that raw sewage was discharged for 1.5 million hours into rivers alone.
Countries are legally required to treat wastewater before it is discharged into waterways. Discharges of untreated human waste are only allowed in exceptional circumstances, for example after extreme rains, the European court of justice has ruled.
The new figures show the scale of wastewater discharges in England into rivers and seas. They have increased from 292,864 incidents in 2019 to 403,171 in 2020, an increase of 27%.
This is partly because increased monitoring of storm surges by water companies this year has provided a much clearer picture of the extent of the pollution. In 2020, monitoring was placed at 12,092 storm overflows, compared to 8,276 in 2019, an increase of 32%. The EA said the average number of spills remained similar to last year.
Sir James Bevan, CEO of EA, said: “SStorm overflows are designed to discharge wastewater into rivers or the sea in times of heavy rain to prevent it from backing up into homes and streets. But a larger population and climate change mean they will discharge more often.
“The Environment Agency is actively working with water companies to ensure that overflows are properly controlled and the damage they cause to the environment is stopped. Greater storm surge monitoring and reporting is part of the solution. It means that everyone can see exactly what is happening and it will help drive the improvements and future investment that we all want to see, with an investment of 1.1 billion pounds already planned for the next four years. “
Rivers Trust said the scale of discharges from water companies was shocking and that real-time monitoring of wastewater discharges into rivers was needed.
Michelle Walker, deputy technical director of the trust, said: “It is good to finally see this data in the public domain and, in particular, the significant increase in the number of overflows that are being monitored over the last four years.
“While we know we cannot make a direct comparison to last year’s data … due to the 50% increase in the number of overflows being monitored, the data is sounding the alarm bells.
“If storm overflows work as designed, they will discharge less than 20 times a year, when there has been extreme rainfall … 2020 data indicates that, sadly, almost one in five overflows in England are discharging more than 60 times a year, a number that is supposed to trigger an EA investigation. This is an astonishing statistic. “
Walker said there was an increase in recreational use of the rivers during the pandemic, which is likely to continue. Real-time data was needed for more rivers, not just the river in Ilkley that was granted bathing water status, he said.
Hugo Tagholm of Surfers Against Sewage said: “The water companies that make unbridled profits at the expense of the health of our rivers, oceans and people have to stop.
“While the government is proposing new laws to be agreed by 2022, the wastewater pollution crisis is here today and needs swift, decisive and executed action. “We will not allow the government and the water companies to just kick this problem … what we need now is radical action.”
A spokesperson for the industry body, Water UK, said: “Water companies are committed to playing their part in reducing damage from storm surges. As the data shows, we have greatly increased monitoring, with the goal of having 100% of the 14,630 overflows in England monitored by the end of 2023. This data is invaluable and allows investment to be directed where it is most needed. “
Water companies would invest £ 1.1 billion to improve storm overflows over the next five years as part of a larger £ 5 billion environmental improvement program and the industry was playing a leading role in the government working group on storm overflows that was looking for long-term alternatives. the spokesman said.
The government announced Monday that it was putting the reduction of wastewater discharges from storm surges into a legal framework. Ministers will have to come up with a plan to cut them down by 2022, a timeline that was criticized by activists for being too slow.
Untreated sewage discharges into seas and rivers by water companies
Anglo water – spills: 17,428; duration in hours: 170,547
Wales of wales – spills: 3,969; duration in hours: 21,300
Northumbria – Spill events: 32,497; duration in hours: 178,229
Severn trent – Spill events: 60,982; duration in hours: 558,699
Southwest water – spills: 42,053; duration in hours: 375.37
South Water – spills: 19,782; duration in hours: 197,213
Thames water – spills: 18,443; Duration in hours: 215,886
United Utilities – Spill events: 113,940; duration in hours: 726,450
Wessex Water – spills: 28,994; Duration in hours: 237,035
Yorkshire water – Spill events: 65,083; duration in hours: 420,419
Data provided by the Environment Agency
