Water companies in England are facing widespread outrage after data revealed raw sewage was discharged into rivers and seas for more than 3.6 million hours last year, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months. The figures make 2023 the worst year for storm water pollution on record.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has called on the government to declare a national environmental emergency and convene an urgent meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to examine the impact of sewage pollution on public health. The total number of discharges from the 14,000 storm overflows owned by English water companies rose by 54% to 464,056, according to data submitted to the Environment Agency.
Senior industry figures blamed heavy rainfall over autumn and winter, but critics argue that storm overflows are designed to cope with such conditions and should only be used in exceptional circumstances. One senior executive admitted: “We have wasted 15 years, we have not been investing enough.”
Some companies recorded particularly high spill rates. South West Water saw 40% of its outflows discharge raw sewage more than 40 times, while nearly a third of United Utilities outflows and 23% of Yorkshire Water outflows discharged 60 times or more. Any outflow with more than 60 discharges a year should trigger an Environment Agency investigation.
The worst affected rivers include the River Irwell and its tributary the Croal in Greater Manchester, which saw nearly 12,000 spills in 2023, equivalent to 95 spills per mile. The River Darwen near Blackburn and Preston had more than 3,000 spills, or 83 per mile, while the River Avon through Bath and Bristol recorded 6,573 spills, or 74 per mile.
The government’s plan to tackle raw sewage pollution gives water companies until 2035 to reduce spills into bathing waters and ecologically important areas, but discharges into other waterways could continue until 2050. Critics argue this timeline is inadequate given the increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall due to climate change.
