‘Two-fifths of rivers polluted with sewage’

TWO-FIFTHS of rivers in Wales and England are polluted with sewage, hitting wildlife and potentially threatening human health, conservationists have warned.

A report from environmental charity WWF said 80% of rivers failed to meet good ecological standards, with half affected by sewage pollution.

There are almost 18,000 licensed emergency sewer overflows in Wales and England, which are allowed to discharge raw sewage directly into the environment during extreme rainfall, mostly into rivers.

But the investigation by WWF suggests they are discharging more frequently, with data from one water company suggesting that 14% of overflows were spilling sewage into rivers more than once a week, and half more once than a month.

Wastewater legally discharged continuously from sewage treatment works is not being treated to a high enough standard to protect rivers, WWF warned.

Sewage pollution can cause rapid algae growth, starving rivers of the oxygen that insects, fish and other wildlife need to live and hitting other species including otters and kingfishers at the top of the food chain.

Bacteria, pathogens and parasites in untreated sewage can threaten the health of people whose hobbies or jobs bring them into contact with potentially infected water, such as surfers, rowers, anglers and wild swimmers.

WWF warned that the growth of cities and the UK population along with climate change were placing a burden on an ageing sewerage system which is already running at full or over capacity.

Households are contributing to the problem, as polling reveals more than a third (35%) of people have flushed or washed down the drain something they should not have in the past month, with wet wipes leading the way.

Ben Stafford, head of campaigns at WWF, said: “We want to see water companies produce longterm wastewater plans that ensure the sewage system is sufficient to prevent pollution and cope with today’s downpours, future climate change, increasing urbanisation and population growth.

“We want to see the UK Government and the Welsh Government make these plans a legal requirement.”

A spokesman for industry body Water UK said the report “overstates” the link between the health of rivers and how water companies treat and dispose of sewage, making no distinction between serious pollution incidents and those which are considered to have “minimal impact”.