Raw sewage spills double

Waste pumped out for 3.6m hours

BY

THE number of hours raw sewage spewed into England’s crisis-hit waterways doubled in just a year, says the Environment Agency.

Storm overflows dumped sewage for 3.6 million hours in 2023, up from 1.75 million in 2022. The number of spills in that time increased 54%, from 301,091 to 464,056.

The Agency said the rise was partly due to England experiencing its sixth-wettest year on record. Yet both figures were lower in 2020, when there was comparable rainfall.

Overflows are only intended for extreme weather but are regularly used to discharge raw sewage.

The raw waste forms a toxic cocktail with treated sewage, chemical toxins and agricultural runoff that pollute England’s rivers, none of which are in a good overall condition. Sea and river bathers are often unable to swim at their favoured spots. But water firm bosses are on high salaries and bonuses despite the condition of waterways and coasts.

In 2023, United Utilities, covering the North West, had the highest number of sewage spills from monitored storm overflows, 97,537 for 656,014 hours. Followed by Yorkshire Water, 77,761 for 516,386

Find out how much sewage was dumped near you by scanning this QR code to go to mirror.co.uk hours. Severn Trent Water had 60,253 spills and South West Water discharged sewage for 530,737 hours.

Clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said improvements must be paid for by shareholders not the public because “we do not want to pay twice for something we have already paid for and didn’t get”.

Greenpeace UK’S Doug Parr said: “Block all water company dividends and bonuses until we see real improvements… while we still have some river ecosystems to protect.”

Industry body Water UK said the results are unacceptable and called on regulator Ofwat to approve its plan to triple investment to cut spills by 40% by 2030.

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A worker sees the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of raw sewage. This 16-mile sewer is complete after eight years and £5billion. The Thames Tideway Tunnel in London is designed to reduce the sewage spilling over into the river by storing it until it is processed. VOICE OF MIRROR: PAGE 10