‘Public won’t stand for this any longer’
There were more than 3,000 ‘monster’ sewage dumps into England's rivers and seas last year, up 63% from the year before, according to the Liberal Democrats.
T h e pa r ty 's a n a l ys i s o f Environment Agency data found that 3,276 storm overflows were classed as having a ‘high spill frequency’ in 2022 – meaning they dump sewage so frequently into a single area that water firms are obliged to investigate the cause within three months.
It marked a steep increase from 2021, when there were 2,008.
In total, 194,900 spills were counted from these overflows, lasting more than 1.36 million hours in total, the Lib Dems said.
The party is calling for water companies to be forced to upgrade their infrastructure to fix the leakiest pipes and stop polluting waterways.
Lib Dem environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: ‘These monster sewage dumps cause devastation, flooding swimming spots with foul water and destroying animal habitats.
‘The rise in these spills truly is a national scandal.
‘Water company execs are raking in millions in bonuses whilst their pipes leak sewage into our lakes and rivers. The whole thing stinks. These polluting firms are obligated to investigate, yet still no action is taken. You would think after a historic drought these figures would drop.
‘Ministers need to get a grip of this. Their half-baked plans announced recently just let water companies get away with it. The public won't stand for this any longer.
‘Water companies need to be forced to fix the leakiest pipes responsible for these monster sewage dumps."
The analysis found that United Utilities, the Lake District's water company, and Devon and Cornwall's South West Water were the worst offenders with almost 40% and 30% of their storm overflows, respectively, having a high spill frequency.
Environment Agency figures published last month showed there were 301,091 spills overall in England in 2022, a 19% decrease from the previous year.
But this was ‘down to dry weather, not water company action’.