A fresh attempt to change the law to stop water companies from releasing raw sewage into rivers has been launched by a senior Conservative MP. Philip Dunne, the chair of the environmental audit committee, is seeking in a private member’s bill to place a duty on water companies to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged into rivers and inland waterways. The attempt to force water companies to act comes after data obtained by the Guardian revealed nine English water and sewerage companies released untreated sewage into rivers more than 200,000 times last year.
The spills are permitted in extreme circumstances, such as torrential rainfall, when the sewerage system cannot cope with the amount of liquid and discharges and are made to release pressure to stop sewage backing up into people’s homes. But the data reveals what critics say is the frequent discharging of sewage and raises public health concerns as increasing numbers of people use rivers to swim, kayak and paddleboard. In 2017-18, more than 4 million people swam in open water, including rivers and lakes, according to the Outdoor Swimming Society.
The Environment Agency gives water companies permits to release untreated human waste and rainwater into rivers via CSOs. More than 60 from one CSO should trigger an investigation by the agency, but the Guardian data reveals some CSOs are discharging hundreds of times.
Source: Guardian
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