Stem the tide of sewage in our rivers, Whitty tells water firms

Wastewater companies must act to protect Britain’s rivers from pollution by harmful bacteria

RIVER sewage is becoming a serious public health concern, Prof Sir Chris Whitty has warned, as he demanded that water companies do more to keep effluent out of Britain’s waterways.

The Chief Medical Officer joined with the chairmen of water regulator Ofwat, and of the Environment Agency, to call on companies to invest in ways to stop human waste entering water courses.

The trio said it was “unacceptable” that some storm overflows were releasing sewage up to 200 times a year, even though they were meant only for exceptional use during extreme rain.

Sir Chris is concerned bathers, and other recreational river users, could become seriously ill by ingesting coliforms (bacteria from human faeces) which can lead to severe infections

“Nobody wants a child to ingest human faeces,” he wrote. “No one expects river water to be of drinking standard, but where people swim or children play they should not expect significant doses of human coliforms if they ingest water.

“Raw sewage from storm overflows and continuous discharge of waste containing viable organisms from sewage treatment works is an increasing problem.

“It is clear that the water companies are not doing enough.”

As part of its Clean Rivers Campaign, The Sunday Telegraph is calling for action to stop water companies as well as industrial agriculture and urban waste producers polluting beauty spots.

An investigation by this paper this year found water companies were releasing raw sewage into rivers more than 1,000 times a day.

Effluent was discharged into rivers and coastal areas for more than 3.1 million hours on more than 400,000 occasions throughout 2020, according to data from the Environment Agency.

It included a site on the Derwent in Duffield, Derbyshire, where sewage was pumped into the river for 8,000 hours in 2020, but which had just 456 hours of heavy rainfall.

Ingesting coliforms from human waste can lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In the elderly or immune-compromised it can cause serious infections in the lungs, skin, eyes, nervous system, kidneys or liver.

Sir Chris said that many people had taken up wild swimming since lockdown and had continued since the pandemic drew to a close, leaving more people at risk from raw sewage.

Just two stretches of river in Britain have safe bathing water status compared to more than 500 in France, he warned.

One of the greatest public health triumphs of the last 200 years was separating human faeces from drinking water. It saved millions of lives. Only vaccination matches it as a public health intervention for prevention. When bacteria from human faeces (coliforms) are ingested, it increases the risk of significant infections including antibiotic resistant bacteria. Keeping human faeces out of water people might ingest remains a public health priority.

Tap water in the UK is safe. No one expects river water to be of drinking standard, but where people swim or children play they should not expect significant doses of human coliforms if they ingest water. Raw sewage from storm overflows and continuous discharge of waste containing viable organisms from sewage treatment works is an increasing rather than decreasing problem. This should be seen as a serious public health issue by water companies, government and regulators, in addition to the ecological and environmental impact which forms the basis for much regulation.

Our rivers, seas and waterways should be free from sewage to reduce risk to the public. There are two major issues to tackle. Both have solutions.

The first is raw sewage discharge from the sewage network and in particular storm overflows. As the name implies, this should be very rare. Storm overflows act as a safety release valve, but were intended only for exceptional circumstances. Data however show their use is now not exceptional. In some cases, up to 200 discharges a year are occurring. This is unacceptable on public health grounds. Nobody wants a child to ingest human faeces.

There are solutions to getting storm overflows back to functioning only in very high rainfall conditions. These involve better operational management, innovation and investment. This is rightly seen as the job of water companies. As a start, four have recently agreed to reduce their overflows to an average of no more than 20 discharges a year by 2025 – but we need to go much further.

The second major issue is coliforms from the continuous normal discharge from sewage works. While raw sewage is not discharged into waterways from these, viable bacteria and viruses are. Eliminating discharges upstream of popular recreational areas will go a long way to reducing human faecal infective organisms downstream. This has been achieved for seaside beaches at coastal works by use of ultraviolet treatment. Other forms of less energy-intensive treatment are in trial or development: these options need to be pushed forward by companies with urgency.

It will inevitably require investment to boost resilience and capacity in our sewerage system. But it is not just a question of money – it needs preventive engineering, better sewer management, innovation and commitment. We welcome recent initiatives by some companies, but a lot more needs to be done. Ofwat asked all companies to produce an action plan setting out how they will rapidly improve river health. As they finalise plans, they must demonstrate a commitment to public health that matches public expectation. We have two stretches of river in England and Wales with bathing water status. There are more than 500 in France.

Plastic wet wipes flushed down toilets congeal together to form fatbergs that cause avoidable use of the storm overflows. Ensuring all of us put wet wipes in bins or, better, that only rapidly biodegradable wet wipes are available would immediately assist in reducing avoidable outflow problems.

However, the principal public health responsibility for ensuring human faeces and viable human faecal bacteria do not get into waterways rests squarely with the water companies and their directors. Ministers have already signalled they want action, and companies should aim to go much faster than the minimum. Regulators will hold companies to account. It is time for wastewater companies to act. It will be a matter of choice if they do not.