BBC: EA Data Shows Sewer Discharges To UK Waters Are Frequent
In a story entitled ‘Why is raw sewage pumped into rivers and the sea?’, the BBC lays bare the situation, as reflected in published Environment Agency data.
In 2022, raw sewage was pumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours last year – on average 825 times per day. This is down 19% on the 2021 figures, because of drier weather rather than water companies’ action, according to the EA. In 2022, OFWAT, the water regulator for England and Wales, launched cases against six water companies over discharging sewage at times when this should not have happened.
About a month ago, the possibility of ‘unlimited fines’ was explained:
Companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into rivers in exceptional circumstances – for example, during heavy rainfall.But they can be acting illegally if they pump sewage into water when the conditions are dry, or if they are not treating enough of the waste before releasing it.
Now, according to our designated regulator, it’s clear that the majority of water companies in the UK are on the wrong side of this.
Not sure how this can be reconciled with the stated position of Water UK, the water company lobby group:
Water UK, which represents the water industry, insisted there were “very high levels of compliance”, citing government data.”So while enforcement is vital if rules are broken, it will only ever be a tiny part of the effort to restore rivers to where they need to be,” it added in a statement.
“The vast majority of improvement will come from investment – where we are bringing forward £56bn to accelerate work on storm overflows.
In the view of the water companies, the majority of which have cases against them by the regulator, then, it would seem to be basically that:
– enforcement is the issue when rules are broken
– rivers should be restored mostly by other means
– more money (from whom?) is needed
Remember, also, that back in April the politicians all seemed, in principle, to be on the same side on this one:
The government said the volume of spillages recorded in the latest data were unacceptable. Ms Coffey also wants the Environment Agency to be able to impose sanctions without going through the courts – although it is expected that serious cases will still go through criminal proceedings. Responding to Friday’s figures on sewage spills, Labour said the government had allowed waterways to be treated as “open sewers”. The UK needed a “strong plan” to tackle sewage, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Saturday, adding that he was “disgusted with what’s been going on”. Labour has previously announced proposals to make monitoring all sewage outlets mandatory, and to impose automatic fines for sewage dumping, if it gains power. The Liberal Democrats went as far as to say Ms Coffey should resign over the figures – while the Green Party said water companies should face greater accountability.