September 2026
1 September 2026 – The Guardian: Dry weather sewage discharges soar as water companies face scrutiny.
Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026. The number of suspected illegal discharges of raw sewage into rivers and seas by water companies during dry weather increased significantly during the first five months of 2026.
Ed: Because the EA and the Water Companies are not interested in stopping the spills.
1 September 2026 – LBC: Water bosses slammed for surge in the ‘most toxic’ sewage dumps.
In the first five months of 2026, there were 7,280 incidents of water firms in England and Wales dumping sewage, chemicals, and other pollutants on days of little or no rainfall. The rate at which water companies discharged the “most toxic” sewage more than doubled at the start of 2026, new data obtained by LBC suggests.
Ed: And it gets worse! When will Andy Burnham grasp the nettle and bring water companies into public ownership?
2026 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution – Petition: Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership.
Hold a binding national referendum on whether the water industry should be returned to public ownership. Water is a basic human necessity; we believe our privatised system has failed, so the public should decide who owns and controls it. Private water companies have about 62 million captive customers whose bills have delivered over £85 Bn to shareholders; money that in public ownership could have been spent on fixing our infrastructure. No other country in the world has privatised water like this. We believe that proposed government reforms to regulation show that water company owners are being favoured over the public, and this is not right in a democracy. A referendum would give the public back its voice about its water.
Ed: This petition has been running for many months – PLEASE SIGN!
August 2026
31 August 2026 – Somerset Live: 15,000 people sign petition against building data centre on Somerset Levels.
Data centres … need a large amount of water to keep the computer servers cool, with many worrying that data centres could make droughts worse. “England is already experiencing drought across majority of the country due to the constant heat waves, the last thing any of us need is a data centre taking away even more clean water. We don’t need or want this.”
Ed: Cooling data centres with clean drinking water is a waste of a valuable natural resource. Water Companies should refuse such planning permissions.
28 August 2026 – THe Reading Chronicle: Thousands sign petition against data centre near Reading.
There are also concerns about how the facility will be cooled, particularly if water is used. Ms Graby stated: “Water, energy and transport are essential. Data centres, however, are not essential to our lives as humans.
Ed: Data centres waste our https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/26503998.thousands-sign-petition-data-centre-near-reading/water.
28 August 2026 – Cambshidgeshire News: Anglian Water prosecuted over Whittlesey pollution incident that killed up to 1,000 fish.
A prosecution has been confirmed against Anglian Water over a serious pollution incident at King’s Dyke near Whittlesey that killed up to 1,000 fish, following a lengthy campaign for answers by North East Cambridgeshire MP Steve Barclay. The Environment Agency confirmed today, August 28, that it has decided to prosecute Anglian Water Services Limited over the pollution incident at King’s Dyke, Stanground, in September 2024.
Ed: Why does it take two years to bring a prosecution in such a clear-cut case.
28 August 2026 – BBC News – North Yorkshire: Charity duck race cancelled over river pollution.
The annual event was due to take place on Sunday on the River Tutt in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire. Staff from Yorkshire Water had been “putting dye down the toilet system” as part of an investigation. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that it was supporting an investigation “following reports from the Environment Agency about a pollution in the River Tutt”.
Ed: What exactly did the EA “report”? Yorkshire Water should react to any pollution reports. Such a shame that a fun event has to be cancelled.
3 August 2026 – Cornwall Live: Sewage pollution sparks no swim notice at popular Cornish beach.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it has confirmed there is a pollution risk at Polstreath Beach, near Mevagissey. In a notice shared on Sunday, August 2, the EA told bathers to avoid entering the water at the beach.
Ed: South West Water’s excuse of “excess rain” isn’t borne out by rainfall data. And EA won’t prosecute. Profit wins over public good.
July 2026
xx July 2026 – 38 Degrees / River Action Petition. To: Angela Eagle, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Stop Big Chicken Choking our Rivers. Every year, over 1 BILLION chickens are reared in the UK producing 3.5 million tonnes of chicken manure. In many areas there is already more waste than the land can safely absorb. When fields become overloaded, rain washes pollution into rivers, fuelling toxic algal blooms, killing wildlife and devastating precious habitats.
Ed: Please sign. Hundreds of chicken farms were given planning permission without constraining them to avoid river pollution. Family farms are safer than conglomerate run ones.
24 July 2026 – Financial Times: Sewage discharges flout guidance near 65 beaches in England since May.
Overflows at bathing sites come as tourists flock to coastal areas for summer holidays.
Ed: Surely we have a “right” to clean beaches.
23 July 2026 – BBC News: Secret court documents reveal potential scale of illegal sewage spilling.
Most of the sewage spills into England’s waterways in the last two years may have been illegal but gone unpunished, according to new analysis. UK law states that raw sewage should not be released during “normal” weather conditions, yet until now the regulator has not clarified exactly what that means. But campaigner Prof Peter Hammond obtained a definition in secret court papers, and said it shows that for more than 80% of the time sewage was being spilled, the weather was “normal”, making the spills possibly illegal.
Ed: Water companies know the discharges are illegal but also know they won’t be prosecuted for them.
17 July 2026 – The Guardian: Southern Water fined £7m after illegally dumping sewage off Kent coast.
Firm pleaded guilty to 13 offences over discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations.
Ed: It’s taken 6 years to bring this action and Southern Water will pay this paltry fine out of Petty Cash!
13 July 2026 – Daily Telegraph: Only a fool would eat a fish from the Thames. It’s this man’s dream.
The river once held a vital role as a fishery, but concerns over sewage pollution mean anglers here are reluctant to dine on what they catch. Over the course of his life, Andrej Urosevic estimates that he has consumed roughly 150 species of fish … but would not now eat Thames fish.
Ed: London accumulates all the pollution from the Thames catchment. MPs should go for a swim at Westminster!.
10 July 2026 – Yorkshire Bylines: Sewage pollution: are the water companies swindling us?
Marinet (Marine Conservation and Environmental Campaign Network) … argues, however, that nationalisation is politically and financially unrealistic … the government should compel all water companies to relist on the London Stock Exchange, returning them to public markets, rather than remaining privately owned. [This will allow government to] “enforce the laws that forbid sewage pollution.”
Ed: This idea will result in years of legal battles and not force water companies to clean up their act. Better to take them into public ownership by offsetting their massive debt against their purported assets.
4 July 2026 – North East Bylines: Northumbrian Water pays £550,000 after two pollution incidents.
Northumbrian Water (NWL) has had to pay more than £500,000 for two pollution incidents caused by sewage discharges into North East watercourses, following enforcement action by the Environment Agency (EA). The money will be used by two local charities for environmental improvements.
Ed: This is a paltry fine for incidents many years ago. We need hefty fines for current incidents (of which there are many). And giving the fines to local trusts doesnt solve the problem of Northumbrian Water’s mismanagement of sewage discharges.
4 July 2026 – Northeast Bylines: Broken sewage pipe causes controversy across Teesside.
A broken sewage main at Cargo Fleet, near Middlesbrough, has resulted in the closure of Teesside’s beaches to swimmers and surfers. But the timing is curious. Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency became aware of the broken pipe on the afternoon of Friday 26 June, but did not issue a ‘do not swim’ notice until two days later. Swimming (and surfing, for that matter) is not advised at Seaton Carew, Redcar, Marske and Saltburn.
Ed: Bad maintenance and late warning show the incompetence of Northumbrian Water. When I windsurfed at Seaton Carew the only issue was the heat from the nuclear power station!
3 July 2026 – The Herald Series: Olympic rower Steve Redgrave piles pressure on councils.
Pressure is mounting on Oxfordshire councils to open a formal investigation into river pollution along the Thames.
Ed: Councils do not have the powers to force polluters to desist. That’s the Environment Agency.
2 July 2026 – My London: Pollution incident in Beckenham river kills dozens of fish and critically endangered eels.
The Environment Agency and Thames Water are currently investigating a 3km stretch of the River Pool in Bromley after the agency received reports of dead fish in Cator Park in Beckenham on Sunday afternoon (June 28).
Ed: EA need to get out of the office and find out what happened.
2 July 2026 – River Action: We’re not backing down in our legal challenge over the Government’s failure to publish a Special Administration policy.
Last year, River Action filed a legal claim challenging the Government’s failure to have or publish a clear policy explaining when it will use its powers to place a failing water company into a Special Administration Regime. Our case raises a simple but fundamental question: when will Ministers intervene if a water company can no longer meet its legal duties? Last week, the High Court refused permission for our judicial review to proceed … So we’ve asked the High Court to reconsider the decision before a different judge.
Ed: This is fundamental to our democracy. A government must publish it’s policy in relation to “Special Administration”.
June 2026
19 June 2026 – North Devon Today: Powerful documentary Jo in the Water is screening at The Plough next week – with a live Q&A with Jo Bateman herself.
A Devon sea swimmer who took South West Water to court in her fight against sewage pollution is coming to North Devon next week for the screening of the powerful new documentary which followed her battle.
Ed: For more screenings see “Jo in the Water”.
18 June 2026 – Exmouth Journal: Concerns about sewage infrastructure in East Devon.
The Exmouth and Exeter East MP raised the issue in the House of Commons, highlighting long-standing sewage pollution problems in his constituency and warning against a repeat of Cranbrook’s experience, where large-scale development outpaced sewage treatment capacity..
Ed: This is a perennial problem. Water companies do not upgrade infrastructure BEFORE new houses are built.
18 June 2026 – The Conversation: England’s sewage spills: why citizen scientists want to test for pollution themselves.
Thousands of volunteers across England now regularly take out their own testing kits to study the levels of pollution in rivers and the sea. With sewage spills rarely out of the news, citizen water testing has become one of the most visible responses to England’s pollution scandals. A crisis of trust in the water companies appears to be driving the public to take water quality testing into their own hands.
Ed: With hundreds of thousands of spills each year the Environment Agency is overwhelmed. But the root cause is water companies failing to invest in infrasctructure. The government must force them to do so.
9 June 2026 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) on Facebook: WASP’s postal service goes to London.
Accompanied by Baroness Jenny Jones of the House of Lords and Feargal Sharkey, WASP’s Prof Peter Hammond and Ash Smith delivered by hand the message that the government is trying to ignore.
Ed: This was in response to the Environment Secretary putting out a misleading petition to counter this one from WASP (to hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership).
May 2026
Ed: Send us your sewage pollution stories >>>
30 May 2026 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Part 2 – Whistleblower returns.
A question I am frequently asked is why did I return to work at the Environment Agency, given the risks? The answer is simply that I considered it my public duty. The public had paid me, and trusted me, to protect them and the environment for many years, and I know a lot of frontline officers who will agree that that sense of responsibility doesn’t leave you easily.
“It is that simple for water companies to hide the evidence and the Agency’s procedures are designed so that they help and encourage this behaviour.”
Ed: Whistleblower Forrester concludes that the only solution to the water crisis is public ownership.
26 May 2026 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Whistleblower! Part 1.
This is a guest blog, written by Robert Forrester, a former Environment Agency employee who became a whistleblower, played in Channel 4’s Dirty Business by Chanel Cresswell, to hide his identity. During production of the factual drama, Rob decided to go public with his identity and remarkable disclosures, and continues to campaign for honesty and integrity to prevail.
Ed: Forrester exposes the misleading statements from the Environments Agency.
30 May 2026 – BBC News Lincolnshire: Concerns over suspected sewage in beck.
Max Bell and Judith Matthews, both Labour councillors for the Ashby Lakeside ward on North Lincolnshire Council, have asked the council and the Environment Agency (EA) to investigate discharges into Bottesford Beck. The authority said it was working with the EA which, along with Severn Trent, shares responsibility for the beck.
Ed: It should not be up to councillors to highlight a pollution issue which EA should be fixing.
29 May 2026 – Bridport & Lyme Regis News: Jo in the Water to be screened at Electric Palace on June 3.
An activist’s battle to rid our rivers and seas of pollution takes centre stage in a new documentary. Jo in the Water will be screened at the Electric Palace in Bridport on Wednesday, June 3, starting at 7.30pm. The film tells the story of Exmouth sea swimmer Jo Bateman, who has become a passionate campaigner against sewage pollution.
Ed: Catch this film at one of the many cinemas across the South West. More information on the “Jo in the Water” website.
29 May 2026 – Southern Daily Echo: Dangerous sewage pollution warning for New Forest stream.
New Forest Friends of the Earth, a community-led group monitoring river health, says the Dane Stream remains “dangerously contaminated” with E. coli despite action to fix a burst pipe earlier this month. The pollution was traced to a rising main at Shorefield Road pumping station, which burst on May 1.
Ed: Although Southern Water responded quickly the damage has been done and the stream is still polluted.
28 May 2026 – The Press: York MP Luke Charters to fight against river pollution.
Luke Charters, MP for York Outer, has said that he plans to bring together constituents for a meeting to address with ‘pollution incidents, sewage discharges and a lack of transparency from water companies’. In his latest column in The Press today, Mr Charters said: “For too long, water companies have been allowed to prioritise short term financial interests ahead of long-term environmental responsibility.
Ed: Good to see an MP taking action against pollution.
26 May 2026 – BBC News London: The misconnected pipes polluting urban rivers.
Hidden plumbing errors are sending untreated household sewage into rivers, polluting waterways without residents’ knowledge. One south-west London river has been badly affected by these misconnections.
Ed: Builders and homeowners need to be aware of this issue.
25 May 2026 – Somerset County Gazette: Taunton MP expresses shock at increased river pollution.
Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos has renewed calls for better water quality in the River Tone. According to data recorded by the MP, sewage has spilt into the River Tone at least 35 times in the past year. He says it contributed to the poor water quality of the local bathing site and … is calling for more to be done to protect people in Taunton and Wellington as temperatures rise and this year’s bathing water season officially gets underway.
Ed: Good to see a local MP making waves. Will our Water Minister react?
23 May 2026 – BBC News: New charter gives River Wye the right to be free from pollution.
The River Wye has become the first river in the UK to be given cross-border rights covering it from source to sea. The charter, which was launched in Hay-on-Wye, recognises how important the river is for people and nature now, and in the future. It’s been endorsed by councils, campaigners and environmental groups from England and Wales. “The river has a right to perform its natural functions and be free from pollution,” said Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, who signed the charter on behalf of Herefordshire Council.
Ed: A good initiative. It may be crucial in the ongoing landmark case (see 20/5/26).
20 May 2026 – Angling Times: Inside the landmark legal battle over River Wye pollution crisis.
The case centres on claims that intensive poultry farming and sewage discharges have severely damaged river systems, with legal action launched against food giant Avara Foods, its subsidiary Freemans of Newent Ltd, and Welsh Water. This preliminary hearing is simply a procedural one to discuss some of the intricacies involved in a big case. The big evidential and blame battle will not happen for months, if not years. After all, this is the biggest legal environmental case there has ever been in the UK. There’s a massive amount of money at stake.
Ed: More publicity for this landmark case.
15 May 2026 – BBC News: ‘Don’t swim’ at 12 of 14 river bathing sites, as more locations announced.
Signs warning people not to swim are in place at almost all of England’s official inland river bathing sites due to concerns the water could be unsafe. Only the River Stour in Suffolk and the River Thames in Oxfordshire had acceptable levels, while water quality at the 12 others was rated “poor” and people advised not to swim.
Ed: What’s the point in designating sites which are polluted as suitable for swimming.
12 May 2026 – Westmorland Gazette: What is happening to Windermere? The pollution crisis explained.
The most detailed picture yet of the lake’s condition emerged from the Big Windermere Survey, a two-and-a-half-year citizen science project run by the Freshwater Biological Association and Lancaster University. Around 350 volunteers collected more than 1,000 water samples from over 100 locations around the lake and its catchment. The findings, published in August 2025, were stark: bacteria levels in three of the four shoreline areas of the lake in summer were consistent only with a “Poor” bathing water quality rating — the lowest classification. Phosphorus levels, a key indicator of nutrient pollution, were also above the standard required for a “Good” rating across the entire lakeshore.
Ed: A pretty damning report on a “National Treasure”.
10 May 2026 – The Times: Water companies remain unpunished after Labour misses own deadline.
Transparency requests show the Environment Agency has not completed any prosecutions against utilities for pollution incidents committed after mid-2021.
Ed: Existing laws allow the EA to prosecute – but they don’t.
11 May 2026 – BBC Radio 4 “Understand”: Rinsed – Episode 1 – The Bridge.
After watching their local river grow murky and lifeless, two retired neighbours decide to take on the water industry and its regulators. The unlikely sleuths begin a ten-year battle to clean up our rivers. On the banks of the River Windrush in Oxfordshire, Kate Lamble meets campaigners Ash Smith and Peter Hammond.
Ed: WASP campaigners and West England Bylines writers tell their story. A must listen! Episode 1 of 13.
7 May 2026 – The Times: Water companies remain unpunished after Labour misses own deadline.
Transparency requests show the Environment Agency has not completed any prosecutions against utilities for pollution incidents committed after mid-2021.
Ed: Not surprising since this is what DEFRA and the water companies have agreed.
6 May 2026 – Channel 4 News: Water company payments are ‘get out of jail card’, says Feargal Sharkey.
We spoke to water campaigner and former singer of The Undertones, Feargal Sharkey. We asked him if it wasn’t, in practice, more sensible to give water company money to charities working to fix our rivers rather than tying it up in years of prosecutions.
Ed: Just listen to Feargal Sharkey denounce the scam of water companies paying trivial fines to escape prosecution. For a longer discussion see this Channel 4 Fourcast “Dirty Water Crisis”.
April 2026
29 April 2026 – Cornwall Live: ‘Floodgates open for sewage’ fear as protection lifted in Cornish river.
A Cornish council has spoken out against a decision by Natural England to remove environmental protection from a section of the River Camel. Natural England has now removed the stumbling block stopping the council approving new housing.
Ed: Using planning restrictions to mitigate pollution from sewage works and agriculture is a flawed policy.
27 April 2026 – Manchester Evening News: Pollution warning issued with children and dogs told to keep out of stream in popular Stockport park.
A brook which runs through a busy Stockport park is being polluted by wastewater from nearby properties with ‘misconnected’ drains, it has been claimed. Signs have been posted around the section of Poise Brook, which runs through Torkington Park in Hazel Grove, advising children and dogs are not allowed to play in the water.
Ed: Who allowed the ‘misconnected’ drains.
28 April 2026 – Paddle UK: Retired Teacher Kayaking 4,000km to Highlight Water Pollution.
Ian Hayward, a retired teacher and highly experienced kayaker from Norfolk, has begun one of the country’s toughest endurance challenges: a solo sea kayak circumnavigation of mainland Britain. The expedition, Britain by Kayak 2026, will raise awareness for men’s health and environmental issues affecting Britain’s coastal waters. Ian, 58, who holds a Masters in Environmental Science, is supporting two charities, Movember and Surfers Against Sewage.
Ed: We’ll follow his progress around our polluted coastline.
27 April 2026 – BBC News: UK’s biggest ever environmental pollution claim reaches High Court.
One of the UK’s largest chicken producers and a water company will be in the High Court on Monday accused of polluting the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk. More than 4,500 people who live or work near the rivers along the Welsh-Englishborder have signed up to take part in what’s being seen as a landmark case against Avara Foods and Welsh Water.
Ed: A long way to go but let’s hope this makes the polluters pay.
17 April 2026 – BBC News Devon: Sewage pollutes beach for more than two weeks.
A beach in south Devon has been polluted with sewage for more than two consecutive weeks, according to the Environment Agency (EA). The agency confirmed a leak from a South West Water (SWW) foul sewer at Gales Hill Beach, Teignmouth and advised swimmers not to enter the water.
Ed: Again poor maintenance by South West Water.
14 April 2026 – Yorkshire Bylines: Our polluted rivers.
Why is raw sewage being discharged so regularly into our rivers, and what are the concerns and consequences for our health? Excessive phosphate loads, in particular, in river water lead to clouds of algae that form mats on the riverbed, and the underside of these algal mats harbour biofilms – long-lived colonies of different, often pathogenic, bacteria and other microbes.
Ed: Our polluted rivers are a real health hazard.
8 April 2026 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Referendum for water! Please sign.
According to our government, we have to keep playing their game and paying for it and bail the companies out when they fail. The government has told NGOs they can’t even talk about it because it is not on the table, for reasons that have been shown to be untrue. That cannot be right, so it is time to shine a bright light on the water scandal. Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership – https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762640
Ed: This is a national campaign to force the government to put Public ownership back on the table.See also The Sewage Campaign Network.
7 April 2026 – Channel 4 News: ‘Government needs to recognise failure of water privatisation’ – Feargal Sharkey.
We spoke to the singer and prominent environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey, and began by asking him to tell us more about the campaign to nationalise water companies.
Ed: Watch the Channel 4 interview. Feargal argues passionately for clean rivers.
8 April 2026 – Oxford Mail: Oxfordshire stars of Channel 4 show in water referendum call.
The Oxfordshire stars of a Channel 4 show have made a call for a referendum on water, launching a petition about the future of the industry.
Ed: Article behind a paywall. See other posts.
8 April 2026 – The Guardian: ‘Should it all just be renationalised?’ – your water crisis questions answered.
Sandra Laville has been reporting on England’s sewage crisis for years. She answered your questions on the water privatisation scandal.
Ed: Read Sandra’s answers on re-nationalisation, our mixed sewerage system and the effect of Brexit.
7 April 2026 – Stratford Observer: Statistics muddying the truth over water pollution in Stratford.
STRATFORD MP … Dr Perteghella is calling for water companies to be required to monitor and report the volume of sewage dumped to ensure water companies cannot get away with deliberately obscuring how much they are polluting our waterways with sewage.
Ed: Many water companies hide behind the statistics. The Environment Agency must require full details of any spills.
March 2026
18 March 2026 – V2Radio: Councillors call for investigation after sewage spill into stream feeding River Itchen.
The burst pipe near the Southern Water pumping station on Bishopstoke Lane, Bishopstoke, led to raw sewage flowing into Bow Lake Stream, which runs into the River Itchen. A Southern Water spokesperson said two bursts had been repaired on the sewer in Bishopstoke Lane. The spokesperson said: “Our teams acted quickly to minimise any environmental impact. Tankering began within two hours to divert flows away, and hay bales were used to contain the spill to land and protect the watercourse.
Ed: Accidents do happen but what about preventative maintenance?
17 March 2026 – AdHoc News:
Ed: Dirty Business Campaigner Ashley Smith and Barrister Paul Powlesland Discuss Thames Water Crisis on People vs Sewage Podcast.
The discussion examines the financial and regulatory structures governing England’s privatised water industry and their relationship to sewage pollution affecting rivers across the country. The rollout comes at a significant moment for the UK water sector as policymakers debate responses to the deepening crisis at Thames Water, whose complex financing structure and heavy debt burden have intensified scrutiny of both the company and the wider regulatory framework overseeing England’s water utilities. Options currently under dscussion include the possible use of Special Administration under existing legislation or broader structural reform of the sector, including proposals for nationalisation.
Ed: Trust a German news channel to feature this! Please watch the podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@PeopleVSSewage.
17 March 2026 – BBC News: Concern as sewage pumped into river for six weeks.
Residents have spoken of their concerns after a sewage treatment plant discharged untreated waste into a brook for more than six weeks. Between 15 January to 3 March, Ampney St Peter released sewage into the Ampney Brook, which flows into the River Thames near Cirenceste r.
Ed: Thames Water are trreating the Ampney Brook as an open sewer.
15 March 2026 – Surfers Against Sewage (SAS): SAS investigation exposes illegal sewage dumping at England’s ‘cleanest’ beaches.
Illegal behaviour, hidden datasets, no accountability and our health at risk A broken system. A Surfers Against Sewage investigation has uncovered thousands of hours of illegal sewage discharges into England’s bathing waters on dry days – including at beaches officially rated “excellent” for water quality.
Ed: All these “dry spills” should be prosecuted.
13 March 2026 – BBC News: Water firm admits six years of illegal pollution.
South West Water has admitted 18 pollution offences across Devon and Cornwall after years of illegal spills which affected rivers, beaches and protected wildlife habitats. The water company entered guilty pleas at Plymouth Magistrates Court after an investigation by the Environment Agency into incidents between 2015 and 2021 in Bodmin, Harlyn, Playing Place, Polperro and Plymouth. The agency said 17 of the charges related to illegal discharges, including raw sewage spills. Sentencing is due on 4 June 2026.
Ed: Why has it taken 6 years to bring these charges?
2 March 2026 – West Country Voices: Renationalise water! Letter to Anna Gelderd, MP,
I have long been disgusted by the indisputable fact that South West Water wilfully and regularly dumps sewage as a profitable policy. I was again reminded of this as I watched the TV drama ‘Dirty Business’, and the scale of it is even worse than I ever imagined. I call on you and all MPs to have these failures renationalised with zero compensation to the leeching shareholders.
Ed: An excellent letter to the MP for SE Cornwall where beach pollution is rife.
1 March 2026 – The Guardian: Thousands of pollution incidents in England downgraded without site visit, data suggests.
Whistleblower figures show large rise in ‘serious’ to ‘minor’ downgrades based on water company evidence. The data shows 2,778 serious pollution incidents by water companies were reported in 2024. Of these, 2,735 (98%) were downgraded to minor incidents by officials, FoI data shows.
Ed: The Environment Agency is culpable of dereliction of duty. A regulator must regulate!
February 2026
27 February 2026 – Surfers Against Sewage: Should we nationalise water companies in the UK?
With pressure higher than ever on the UK Government to take action on water companies, what does Surfers Against Sewage think about the calls for their renationalisation? With Channel 4’s shocking factual drama Dirty Business laying bare the sewage scandal, a growing number of people are asking how we fix a water system that’s clearly broken. One of the biggest questions now on the table is whether the UK should nationalise its water companies.
Ed: Some form of public ownership is essential.
23 February 2026 – Derbyshire Times: Yorkshire Water fined over £700,000 for sewage spills at Chesterfield country park.
The fine was dished out by Judge Martin Reynolds for the spills into the stream at Poolsbrook Country Park in Staveley – one of which killed fish including tench, pike and roach along with river insects and impacted water quality for over 600 metres.
Ed: A rare case of the Environment Agency doing its job.
26 February 2026 – Channel 4: Dirty Business.
In an idyllic Oxfordshire hamlet, the fish in the river keep dying. Why? David Thewlis and Jason Watkins lead this shocking real-life drama of victims, whistleblowers and England’s water companies.
Ed: This is a must watch. Let’s hope this shames the government into action – take the water companies into public ownership.
24 February 2026 – West England Bylines: New Vision for Water.
The Government’s New Vision for Water fails to tackle water companies’ perverse incentives to game the industry for profit. Ashley Smith, star of the Channel 4 docu-drama, catalogues the failures of government – the corrupted Water Commission, the vested interests of the water companies, the years of neglect, billpayers paying for investment – and concludes that we must end privatisation and regulate properly.
Ed: Public ownership is the only way forward.
22 February 2026 – West England Bylines: Should the River Wye have legal rights?
Giving the natural world enforceable rights in law, known as rights of nature, is not fanciful. Those rights can have practical application.
Ed: Our new writer Dr Huw Evans argues for the “Rights of Nature”.
17 February 20206 – River Action launches legal challenge, accusing NRW of “washing its hands” of intensive poultry pollution.
We have launched a judicial review challenging Natural Resources Wales (NRW)’ approval of three expanded poultry farms in Powys, accusing the regulator of “washing its hands” of manure pollution by taking an unlawfully narrow view of its powers.
Ed: American poultry conglomerates are killing Wales’ rivers – with government permission.
4 February 2026 – Malvern Gazette: Sewage spilled into brook near Malvern for more than 400 hours.
The recent spill into Madresfield Brook, which feeds into the River Severn, began on January 15 and didn’t stop until Tuesday (February 3), according to Severn Trent’s own storm overflow map. That is a total of nearly 19 days, or 455 hours.
Ed: MEASURING the spills isn’t enough. Water companies need to STOP them!
3 February 2026 – BBC News: Poo fountains are shooting up in people’s houses.
Residents have raised concerns after water from sewers was pumped into a stream to prevent flooding. Water from sewers in Cerne Abbas, in Dorset, has been discharged by Wessex Water into a stream that feeds the nearby River Cerne. The firm said it was removing rain and groundwater from the sewers and that the practice is allowed by the Environment Agency when groundwater levels are “exceptionally high”.
Ed: Groundwater seeping into leaky sewers could be prevented by better sewer maintenance.
2 February 2026 – BBC News Surrey: ‘Whole river suffering’ after sewage discharges.
Members of the River Mole River Watch in Surrey said nearly 800 cumulative hours of sewage was discharged into the river from 20-24 January amid heavy rain days before Storm Chandra, according to Thames Water figures.
Ed: Storm discharges are allowed for “exceptional” events. 800 hours is not “exceptional”!
January 2026
31 January – Cornwall Live: Beaches across South West hit by sewage spills.
A large number of beaches across the South West are currently listed as having sewage alerts in place. This means there’s a risk for swimmers entering the water in rivers, estuaries and the sea off of some of our top coastal spots.
Ed: A permanent state of affairs for what should be “exceptional” circumstances.
13 January 2026 – Rayo: West Oxfordshire tackles sewage issues before any new homes are occupied.
Planning conditions ensure infrastructure upgrades are completed first. “By introducing Grampian conditions, we’re putting pressure on Thames Water to act to ensure failing systems are invested in.
Ed: Previously a water company only had to promise infrastructure WOULD be in place. With Grampian conditions infrastructure MUST be in place.
13 January 2026 – Water Magazine: England’s waters still falling short despite tougher rules, watchdog warns.
.… pollution from wastewater, agriculture and urban run-off continuing to undermine environmental goals, according to a new assessment published today by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) … only a small proportion of water bodies in England currently meet good ecological status.
Ed: Another damning report in Emma Hardy’s in-tray.
12 January 2026 – We Own It: New polling has revealed that 54% of Thames Water customers think Ofwat should reject a deal proposed by Thames Water’s creditors, and put it into special administration.
It has also revealed that over two thirds (68%) of Thames Water customers believe that Thames Water should be nationalised and run in the public sector.
Ed: We know now what the public think. The Minister for Water (Emma Hardy) who has thus far done nothing must now act.
5 January 2026 – Rayo: Surfers Against Sewage make their 2026 demands.
With a new year underway, campaigners from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) are setting out what they want water companies and ministers to deliver by 2026, warning that urgent action is needed to protect the UK’s seas and rivers. The charity is now calling on ministers to strengthen regulation and enforcement, and on water companies to accelerate investment in infrastructure to reduce sewage discharges.
Ed: SAS are great champions for clean beaches. Support them whenever you can.
5 January 2026 – Bucks Free Press: Thames Water sewage poured for hours into Iver Colne Brook.
The Iver North Waste Water Treatment Works has poured untreated sewage into Colne Brook for a combined five hours and 15 minutes from 10pm, on January 1 to 11.15pm on January 4.
Ed: Yet another sewage works in need of investment.
December 2025
27 December 2025 – Daily Telegraph: Labour urged to stop farmers spreading ‘sludge’ on fields.
Using sewage by products to fertilise soil risks harmful chemicals getting into food chain.
Ed: As usual DT points the finger at Labour, ignoring the years of Tory neglect. See earlier post of 7 July 2025.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS.
I’ve posted very little in December due to health issues. But this from WASP is an important one.
19 December 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Tis the season to be jolly and the season of good will, but beware, it is also the sewage dumping season.
This is the time of year when water companies discharge most of the untreated sewage they are unable to deal with, legally or illegally.
Ed: Check out the WASP website for more info.
16 November 2025 – The Guardian: Flooded and forgotten: the UK’s waters are rising and we’re being kept in the dark.
Rescue operations in Wales, submerged railway lines in Cornwall – these events are ever more common. So why have we utterly failed to prepare? … over the past 10 years, one in 13 new homes have been built in the highest-risk flood zones.
Ed: As a hydrologist in Hampshire in the 1970’s we designated flood prone areas as ‘no-build’. They have all been built on!
12 November 2025 – BBC News North Yorkshire: Calls to tackle ‘heartbreaking’ river pollution.
Parliament data showed spills from wastewater storm overflows into the River Ouse in and around York lasted a total of 24,872 hours in 2024, the Local Democracy Service reported, comparing to more than 16,000 hours in 2023. A motion by City of York Council’s Jenny Kent calls for laws mirroring EU pollution rules and a ban on so-called forever chemicals that linger in water systems.
Ed: Our rivers would be lot cleaner is we were still bound by EU pollution rules.
11 November 2025 – BBC News: Water firm agrees £11m package to cut sewage spills.
Wessex Water and its shareholders will pay for upgrades to reduce spills at storm overflow sites, extra monitoring equipment, and to help customers better manage rainwater at their properties. The company proposed the package to avoid a £10m penalty after an Ofwat investigation found it had failed to adequately maintain and upgrade its waste water network.
Ed: This is peanuts compared to what Wessex should be spending on upgrades. And it only costs them £1m.
10 November 2025 – BBC News Kent: Swans and fish die amid pollution incident.
A pollution incident has killed several thousand fish in Kent, the Environment Agency (EA) has said. About 3.7 miles (6km) of a stream known as Sarre Penn and the adjacent River Wantsum, near Canterbury, have been affected, it said. The agency said specialist officers were at the scene and it was working to establish the source of the pollution.
Ed: Sounds like an illegal discharge. The EA must find the source.
10 November 2025 – The Guardian: Southern Water apologises for catastrophic spill of plastic biobeads in Sussex.
Resulting pollution on Camber Sands beach poses threat to wildlife including dolphins and seals. Camber Sands in East Sussex is one of England’s most beloved beaches, with rare dune habitat and vast stretches of golden sand. It is home to dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds including terns and cormorants.
Ed: Southern Water must review their operating practices to prevent a future spill.
7 November 2025 – BBC News Wales: Amazon tree-felling blamed for polluting UK rivers.
Tree-felling in the Amazon rainforest is partly to blame for pollution that is plaguing UK rivers such as the Wye, a new report suggests. It points the finger of blame at soy which is imported from vast plantations overseas and used as livestock feed, calling this a “hidden link” to the poor state of many waterways in Wales, and around the UK.
Ed: The Environment Agency has allowed a huge number of chicken farms in the Wye and Severn catchments. And it does control the effluent.
4 November 2025 – The Guardian: Ofwat letting water firms charge twice to tackle sewage, court to hear.
River Action bringing legal action against water regulator over who should foot bill for firms’ past failures to invest. Lawyers for River Action say the bill increases being allowed by Ofwat – which amount to an average of £123 a year per household – mean customers will be paying again for improvements to achieve environmental compliance that should have been funded from their previous bills.
Ed: We cannot allow customers to pay again for what they should received. A radical solution like Special Administrative Regime (SAR) or nationalisation.
1 November 2025 – The Guardian: Britain’s canals and rivers face lack of funds amid climate pressures, campaigners warn.
IWA [Inland Waterways Association] graded navigation authorities from severe deficit (red) to financially stable (green). About 75% fell into red or amber categories, including the Environment Agency and the Cam Conservancy, which acknowledged it could not meet all its commitments.
Ed: Canals and rivers are a valuable recreational resource and need appropriate funding.
October 2025
29 October 2025 – Yorkshire Post: 20 pipes discovered to be polluting into River Aire in Leeds.
Almost two-thirds of the 20 concerning pipes were caused by buildings that had incorrectly connected wastewater – sinks, toilets and washing machines – into surface water sewers that are only intended to send rainfall and road runoff into the Aire.
Ed: Does the Environment Agency have to rely on voluntary organisations to flag up pollution?
29 October 2025 – Banbury Guardian: Campaigners fear Thames Water may postpone Banbury Sewage Treatment upgrade again.
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) is not convinced the privatised water company will get Banbury Sewage Treatment Works (STW) upgraded by the new date of 2029. It was originally due for completion in early 2026.
Ed: A familiar story as in my home town of Fairford.
27 October 2025 – BBC Dorset News: Environmentalists reject water firm funding offer.
Little Green Change, based in Lyme Regis, Dorset, runs education projects for schools and organisations in South West England. The not-profit social enterprise said it rejected £4,825 from South West Water (SWW), accusing it of prioritising shareholders above investment to stop pollution.
Ed: Well done! No greenwashing in Lyme Regis.
20 October 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water ranked worst supplier in England as firms’ ratings hit record low.
England’s water company ratings have fallen to the lowest level on record after sewage pollution last year hit a new peak, with eight of nine water companies rated as poor and needing improvement by the Environment Agency.
Ed: Which shows that neither the EA nor OFWAT are doing their job. We need nationalisation or at least “Public Benefit Companies”.
9 October 2025 – Imperial College London: £2m UKRI project to tackle “Forever Chemicals” pollution in UK river wildlife.
UNSaFE (UNderstanding the Scale, Sources, Fate and Effects of PFAS pollution), is led by Imperial College London in partnership with Brunel University London, King’s College London, and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), has been launched to tackle major knowledge gaps regarding per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals” that contaminate our waterways.
Ed: A welcome investment but much more is needed. (UKCEH is my old Institute of Hydrology).
8 October 2025 – Leigh Day: Wye pollution legal claim filed at High Court.
A legal claim which almost 4,000 people have joined, challenging river pollution in the Wye and Usk catchment areas, has been filed at the High Court. The court action is against industrial chicken production firms, Avara Foods Limited and Freemans of Newent Limited as well as sewage company Welsh Water, Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig, who are blamed for extensive and widespread pollution in the rivers Wye and Lugg and their tributaries. Welsh Water is blamed for pollution in the river Usk.
Ed: Mass pollution now being countered by mass legal action.
3 October 2025 – Gov.uk: Water company fines fund local restoration projects.
Over £10 million in water company fines directed to restore local waterways through 51 projects aimed at cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas. From restoring riverbeds in Exmoor National Park to tackling septic tank spills into Windermere, these projects will restore precious habitats, improve flood resilience and enable local wildlife to thrive.
Ed: This is drop of clean water in an ocean of sewage.
3 October 2025 – BBC News Gloucestershire: ‘Shocking’ levels of sewage prompts council vote.
Local councillors have voted unanimously in support of a motion calling for investment to tackle the “shocking” levels of sewage pollution in the River Avon. Tewkesbury Borough Councillor Matt Dimond-Brown put forward the motion at a meeting during which he criticised the thousands of hours of “untreated sewage discharges” from local sewage installations.
Ed: The viability of Tewkesbury as a tourist destination is under threat.
2 October 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water creditors ask for up to 15 years’ leniency from river pollution rules.
Lenders say a ‘full return to legal, regulatory and environmental compliance’ under new rescue plan would not be completed until at least 2035-2040. he alternative to a creditor-led turnaround plan is a special administration regime (SAR), under which the water company would come under temporary government control to impose debt write-offs and find a buyer.
Ed: SAR would be good. Nationalisation would be better.
September 2025
27 September 2025 – The i Paper: Where your water bill actually goes – as water companies pay billions in dividends.
Over a quarter of the average water bill in England is being spent on debt and dividends as water companies come under fire underinvesting in the sewerage network. Research by the think–tank Common Wealth has found that water companies’ operating profit margins are significantly higher than other FTSE 350 companies, including Shell and Sainsbury’s.
Ed: Ask your MP to lobby for lower dividends.
28 September 2025 – East Anglia Bylines: Happy World Rivers Day.
Rivers give us wildlife, water, energy and beauty – but pollution threatens them all. World Rivers Day is a reminder. Rivers are very important as they provide habitat for wildlife. They provide freshwater for agriculture and other industries. People can have fun on rivers going down them in boats. They can be a source of energy for hydroelectric power.
Ed: An excellent article from 11 year old Amaya in our sister publication.
26 September 2025 – The Guardian: £500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years.
London’s desalination plant has cost more than half a billion pounds since 2010 and has run only five times, delivering 7.2bn litres of drinking water, roughly seven days of London’s typical daily demand. Now Thames Water is planning a new £500m project to tackle drought in the capital.
Ed: What a waste of customers’ money.
24 September 2025 – East Anglia Bylines: Norfolk Broads rivers drowning in sewage, new report warns.
More than 90% of rivers in the Norfolk Broads are in failing health, a new study has found. The findings have been revealed in a report by the Campaign for National Parks (CNP), which assessed the condition of national park waterways across the country. It found that pollution inside the protected area is twice as bad as outside it nationally.
Ed: National Parks should have more protection not less.
21 September 2025 – The Times: Water companies illegally dumping raw sewage through secret pipes.
There are 7,000 emergency overflows to pumping stations across England, which are currently largely unmonitored. The emergency overflows are only legally permitted to discharge sewage during “urgent circumstances” such as mechanical breakdowns.
Ed: What else will the Environment Agency “discover” next? These should have been monitored anyway!
15 September 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution: Public health catastrophe or upset the financiers?
Water Minister Emma Hardy was speaking at the cross-party Efra Committee hearing in Parliament on Tuesday 9 September, explaining what would be the level of failure required of Thames Water before taking control of this company under Special Administration. Suddenly, she dropped this bombshell, admitting the government would only act if; ” …Fundamentally, water doesn’t come out of the tap and your toilets don’t flush and sewage goes away…”.
Ed: This is an incompetent Minister spouting the party line.
13 September 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water paid £1m-plus to corporate spooks firm part-owned by Starmer adviser.
Hakluyt – formerly run by Varun Chandra – has been advising utilities company as it tries to avoid renationalisation. In the spring Chandra intervened in last-ditch talks to persuade the US private equity group KKR to buy Thames Water, including speaking to KKR’s co-founder Henry Kravis. That presents a potential conflict of interest, as the 40-year-old still owns a multimillion-pound stake in Hakluyt and is entitled to receive dividends from the Mayfair company.
Ed: What “advice” will such an advisor give the government?
7 September 2025 – BBC News Cornwall: Surf competition cancelled due to water pollution.
Surfing England which hosted the 2025 English Interclub Surfing Championships in Porthtowan, Cornwall, on Saturday said it had been “devastated” to have to cancel Sunday’s event which had more than 140 surfers from across the country competing. Operations manager Hannah Brand said they had asked surfers to leave the water after being informed by lifeguards “that the beach was being red-flagged due to a sewage discharge”.
Ed: SWW discharge sewage because the law permits it. Do we need to change the law?
5 September 2025 – Henley Herald: Thames River swim challenge interrupted by high pollution levels in Henley.
A group of world-class swimmers who swam the Thames this week to raise awareness of river pollution had their challenge interrupted by high levels of e-coli due to raw sewage on Wednesday in Henley. In Henley, known for its hotspot for sewage pollution, the data was so concerning that the swimmers briefly hopped into the boat. Readings immediately after Henley showed E. coli levels at 150 times higher than the stretch before Marsh Lock.
Ed: This proves the point of the swim. The Thames is dangerously polluted.
3 September 2025 – BBC News: Athletes swim Thames to highlight ‘sewage crisis’.
Eight swimmers are taking part in a 200km (124-mile) swim relay along the length of the River Thames to raise awareness of the UK’s “sewage crisis”. The participants, coordinated by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), set off on Monday from Lechlade, Gloucestershire, and will finish at Teddington Lock on Thursday. They will then travel by boat and kayak to Westminster, where they will call for “urgent action to protect the UK’s rivers, lakes, and seas”.
Ed: A great initiative. Let’s hope our MP’s listen.
2 September 2025 – Hampshire Chronicle: River Itchen has alarming levels of microfibre pollution.
The first-of-its-kind study, conducted by the Upper Itchen Restoration Community Interest Company (UIR CIC) and the University of Brighton, has revealed tiny plastic and fibreglass particles in the river’s headwaters. Ian Diver, one of the directors of the UIR CIC, added: “The Itchen is one of England’s iconic chalk rivers with a special community of plants and animals, but its ecosystem is declining.
Ed: It’s not just sewage and agriculture polluting our rivers.
2 September 2025 – Dieter Helm: Water after the Cunliffe Commission.
The necessary steps are: abolish OFWAT; adopt the new Catchment Regulation Model; split out flooding from the EA; turn the EA into an EPA; embrace digital mapping and AI in open-access catchment maps, allowing anyone to do their own scenarios; and abolish the periodic reviews and move towards competitive bidding.
Ed: Helm is still constrained like Cunliffe by ruling out nationalisation.
Archive – August 2025
28 August 2025 – Earthwatch Europe: The River Evenlode catchment: a community’s ongoing fight against water pollution.
Its story shows the wider struggle to protect and restore the water quality of Britain’s waterways. This struggle is amidst the growing concern of communities, scientists, and organisations working for healthy rivers that will support wildlife, people’s wellbeing, food-production and water supply.
Ed: A great community initiative to protect a Cotswold river.
19 August 2025 – Surfers Against Sewage: Why our wild waters need us this October.
We won’t stop demanding that people & planet come before profit, to put an end to sewage pollution. But to do this, we need your help. Dip a Day in October is a great way to take positive action by raising ocean-saving funds to give back & protect the waters you love, all whilst having heaps of fun with a likeminded and energised community of water lovers whilst doing so.
Ed: Join this national event to raise awareness of our polluted waters.
19 Aug 2025 – The Guardian: Most of Windermere polluted with sewage bacteria, finds biggest survey of its kind.
Concentrations of faecal bacteria in the lake were found to peak in summer but there were high levels throughout year. The results come from the largest survey of water quality across the lake, which involved 350 citizen scientists taking more than 1,000 samples over two and a half years in the Big Windermere Survey.
Ed: This proves once and for all that Lake Windermere needs cleaning up.
17 August 2025 – Wilts and Glos Standard: South Cotswolds MP calls for coastal sewage clean-up.
[Dr Roz Savage MP writes] As families head off for the summer holidays, nearly half of Brits now say they’d never swim in the sea. That number has gone up sharply in the last two years, as the sewage scandal has deepened. Families are being pushed into going abroad for holidays – not because they want to, but because they feel they have to – impoverishing our seaside resorts and tourist industry.
Ed: This isn’t about a few people getting ill from swimming in the sea it’s about the viability of our British tourist industry.
6 August 2025 – BBC News: Anger over claims of ‘seeping’ raw sewage on beach.
Janet Finch-Saunders, who represents Aberconwy, has called for Welsh Water to invest more in its pumping stations after beachgoers reported sewage running on to West Shore in Llandudno, Conwy county.
Ed: Even Welsh Water are not blameless.
4 August 2025 – The Times: Water firms cause more than 100 potentially illegal sewage spills a day.
Raw sewage is pouring into waterways on dry days far more often than reported as infrastructure fails to keep pace with population growth and climate change.
Ed: More damning data – if you can get around the paywall.
2 August 2025 ; BBC News Bristol: Protesters touring UK in fight against river sewage.
Open water swimmers campaigning against raw sewage discharges into public water are touring the UK with a giant puppet they created to represent rivers. Avona is being designed and made by members of Bristol’s Conham Bathing and local artists, and will be taken to events around the country. The group regularly samples the water quality of the River Avon, and are campaigning for it to have legal personhood status similar to rivers in New Zealand.
Ed: An imaginative way to get the message across that rivers have rights.
1 August 2025 – Chichester Harbour Trust: Chichester Harbour Trust responds to Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission: Review of the Water Sector.
As Nick Backhouse, Chairman of the Chichester Harbour Trust, said: “The Government must implement these proposals a matter of urgency. But it must not hide behind Commissions and new regulators; it must lead. What is critically needed is massive investment in our sewerage system that is way beyond the scope of this report.
Ed: A touch of blind faith that the government will deliver.
1 August 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Show us the [Water Commission] evidence?
The final report from the independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, arrived on July 21st, 464 pages and 88 recommendations. After careful consideration and conducting some error checks on the report and process, this is our review: “Ill-conceived, selective, flawed, and opaque”.
Ed: An excellent review. WASP have dissected and analysed the Report and found little evidence for its recommendations. Also consultation was biased towards status quo.
Special Update – 22 July 2025 – Reaction to Water Commission Report
Ed: Some factual reporting of the report’s recommendations but very little criticism of its shortcomings.
Startup News: Feargal Sharkey Slams Government Over Water Crisis Amid Cunliffe Review Findings.
Feargal Sharkey criticized the government’s apparent reluctance to implement meaningful reform. “The government are determined to protect water company shareholders,” he said, adding that decades of mismanagement and underinvestment have left the UK’s waterways in crisis.
Ed: As ever, Feargal is speaking truth to power.
The Guardian: ‘Less reorganising, more doing’: landmark report alone won’t fix broken water sector.
Experts say commission’s recommendations will come to nothing unless water firms actually start building vital infrastructure.
Ed: Energy and resources devoted to reorganisation will delay necessary infrastructure.
Wildfish: The Cunliffe Independent Water Commission Report – lots of ‘steam’ or sensible review?
But, as we have written elsewhere, our disappointment in governments present and past is that they have averted their eyes from the real problem of water and sewage in this country – a simple failure by government and its regulators to uphold existing largely good law.
Ed: Spot on! We have had the laws, we just decided not to regulate.
BBC News: Five key takeaways from the landmark water sector review.
All sides to blame – but Ofwat gets the boot. Water companies need to stop marking their own homework. More controls over company owners – but no nationalisation. Our bills may have to rise. There are no quick fixes.
Ed: A fair summary but no quotes from environmental groups.
The Sun: Water bills to rise by another 30% in next 5 years as Labour confirms regulator Ofwat will be SCRAPPED.
Six out of ten water firms paid their bosses an average bonus of £180,000 last year — on top of their fat salaries. Yet now we’re told we may have to dig deep to fund a clean-up of our waterways and invest in new infrastructure.
Ed: As well as reporting the content of the report The Sun comments that water company bosses must be controlled.
Express: Damning report into water industry says key regulator ‘failed’ and should be axed.
When asked if the watchdog had failed, the report author said “yes”.
Ed: Another fair report with quotes from Reed, Cunliffe and River Action.
Mail Online: Water bills set to soar by 30% in just five years as Labour confirms it will abolish Ofwat after damning report.
The long-awaited final report from the Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon, outlined 88 recommendations to the UK and Welsh governments to turn around the ailing industry.
Ed: A rather balanced and factual article quoting the Environment Secretary, the Commission chair and environmental groups.
The Telegraph: As Britain’s Leftist puritans enforce rationing, America lives in abundance.
Anti-growth elites say the answer to our water woes lies in depriving us of basic comforts. They’re wrong.
Ed: No! David Frost is wrong with his convoluted growth-driven logic.
Other posts in July 2025
20 July 2025 – The Guardian: Environment secretary ‘furious’ about England and Wales water bills.
Reed said he hoped that “root and branch” reform of the industry would lead to billions of pounds more in investment, which would mean companies would “never again” have to increase bills in the way they did last year.
Ed: We need to see what this ‘root and branch’ reform looks like!
19 July 2025 – BBC News: Sewage discharges to halve by 2030, minister pledges.
Steve Reed told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the water sector was “broken” and the regulator, Ofwat, was “clearly failing”. The “reset” would include tougher treatment of water company bosses if their companies were not meeting the required standards, including possible prison sentences. However, he did not confirm if Ofwat would be scrapped, a policy recommendation that could be included in a landmark review of the industry, due to be published on Monday.
Ed: All fine words. Let’s wait to any action.
18 July 2025 – The Guardian: Ofwat to be abolished as ministers look to create new water regulator.
England and Wales’ embattled water regulator will be abolished under recommendations from a government-commissioned review due out on Monday, the Guardian understands. Ministers will announce next week a consultation into creating a new regulator, to coincide with the results of a review into the water industry directed by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.
Ed: And replaced with WHAT?
18 July 2025 – BBC News: Serious water pollution incidents up 60% in England, Environment Agency says.
In total there were 2,801 pollution incidents in England in 2024, the highest on record, compared with 2,174 in 2023. The Public Accounts Committee – a cross party group of MPs – called the level of pollution “woeful” and said regulators were “missing in action” in holding the industry to account.
Ed: Let’s hope the Cunliffe report defines some action to remedy this!
17 July 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution: Court Update.
When our government came to power a year ago, it could have taken Thames Water into Special Administration, meaning protective public ownership, but it didn’t. A special law exists to handle this situation in recognition that this is not an ordinary company going bust, no matter how big, this is the supplier of our water and the processor of our sewage – its assets cannot be sold off for scrap and it cannot be allowed to make its staff redundant, or walk off with their pension fund. This is the law https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2024/9780348256277/contents
Ed: The government is ignoring Special Administration even though it has a legal obligation to invoke it.
4 July 2025 – The i Paper: The rivers at risk of sparking a rise in superbugs.
Researchers found at least one of six common biocide chemicals in 95 per cent of the 119 rivers tested. Most contained between four and six of these chemicals, according to a study by the Wildlife and Countryside Link and Rivers Trust.
Ed: Where is the control and regulation by the Environment Agency?
8 July 2025 – The Guardian: Yorkshire Water announces hosepipe ban after driest spring in 132 years.
Restrictions to be brought in from Friday after region receives just 15cm of rainfall between February and June. Mark Lloyd, the chief executive of the charity the Rivers Trust, said … “Sadly, the measures will also probably include drought permits that allow the company to take more water from rivers than normal, which will have severe impacts on river wildlife which is already struggling,” he said. “It will be very surprising if other companies don’t have to follow suit unless the weather changes dramatically.”
Ed: Water companies need to provide enough water for the new norm of longer, more severe droughts.
7 July BBC News Suffolk: Swimmers told to avoid seafront due to sewage.
The Water UK website showed that a storm overflow had started operating on Sunday afternoon and had continued into Monday. A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are working closely with partner organisations to coordinate our response to the sewage spill at Lowestoft.
Ed: No reason given by Anglian Water for the Lowestoft spill.
7 July 2025 – The Guardian: Millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge spread on UK farmland every year.
Experts call for stricter regulation as current rules set in 1989 require testing for only a few heavy metals. About 87% of the UK’s 3.6m tonnes of sewage sludge is applied to farmland. An Environment Agency (EA) officer, speaking anonymously, said: “People have seen the sewage in rivers … they need to know about the sludge, where it goes and what’s in it.”
Ed: Not only does excess sewage run off into rivers but so too do those harmful chemicals. See also our 10 June post from Greenpeace.
7 July 2025 – The Guardian: Bring water firms in England and Wales into public ownership, commission urges.
Experts’ report says public ownership would mean cheaper bills, less pollution and more investment. Set up by four academics with expertise in economics, water governance and the law to “fill the gaps” of the government-appointed Cunliffe commission, the inquiry will present its findings to MPs on Monday. … public ownership is not the same as nationalisation. Public ownership means a company that is run to service the public and the environment and has public ownership of water infrastructure but could include some private-sector involvement via not-for-profit companies.
Ed: This new report proposes public ownership which the Cunliffe Commission was not allowed to do.
2 July 2025 – Envirotec: Over half of Thames Water’s sewage works struggling to meet demand.
Independent analysis has estimated that more than half of Thames Water’s 351 sewage treatment works are currently operating without sufficient capacity to treat the volumes of sewage they receive. Research conducted by the volunteer-led Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC) has identified 181 treatment works falling short of required capacity. Of these, 94 have between 80–100% of the necessary treatment capacity, 70 operate between 60–80%, and an alarming 17 sites function at less than 60%. In some cases, such as Hanwell and Bourton-on-the-Water in Oxfordshire, facilities are estimated to be treating less than half the sewage they receive.
Ed: What more evidence does the Environment Minister need to nationalise Thames Water and invest in capacity?
2 July 2025 – Surfers Against Sewage: Over half of the public don’t trust government to end sewage pollution.
New research indicates the scale of public mistrust in the government to deal with water quality issues, with 52% of people saying they don’t trust that it will make the necessary reforms to end the UK’s sewage crisis. Sewage has poured into British waterways over 158,000 times so far this year, with 54 days where there have been more than 1,000 sewage discharges in a single day.
Ed: When will the government bow to pubic opinion.
Archive – June 2025
28 June 2025 – Evesham Journal: River Severn deterioration fears due to sewage and pollution.
Glyn Marshall, 68, has spent the last four years testing water quality at the Severn in Worcester after growing frustrated with fishing surrounded by toilet paper and sanitary towels. He has since been involved with The Angling Trust, leading a group of 57 testers along the river who have collected over 10,000 samples in the last two years. “It is not any better than it was when I started four years ago,” he admitted.”If anything, it is probably getting worse.
Ed: Even the angling lobby is powerless to prevent our rivers being polluted.
29 June 2025 – The i Paper: UK oysters and mussels hit by ‘disgustingly high’ number of sewage spills.
While shellfish growers are obliged to clean their produce to remove any bacteria so that it is safe to eat, campaigners warn the scale of the sewage problem poses a potential risk to public health. Growers say their livelihood is also at risk from the extra costs of dealing with the sewage, and are calling for tougher action on the water companies to reduce spills.
Ed: Why should shellfish growers be put out of business by water companies illegally dumping sewage.
24 June 2025 – BBC News: River pollution suffocating the sea, campaigners say.
WWF Cymru said excess nutrients from farming and sewage were leading to the growth of algal blooms, smothering the seabed. New assessments of the condition of protected areas along the Welsh coast, published by environment watchdog Natural Resources Wales (NRW), reveal several sites suffering from nutrient pollution with more than half of the species and habitats assessed across all areas in unfavourable condition.
Ed: Having suffocated our river life pollution is now smothering our coastal seas.
22 June 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water lenders demand government effectively block campaigners from legal action.
Creditors owed £13bn say ministers should prioritise ‘environmental betterment over punitive enforcement’. Feargal Sharkey, a prominent water campaigner and the former lead singer of the Undertones, said such a move would “undermine one of the fundamental cornerstones of democracy” and urged the government to reject the demands.
Ed: Thames Water has escaped scot free so far. Now is the time to enforce the law.
20 June 2025 – Channel 4 News: Has sewage been illegally dumped into Lake District protected site?
Campaigners say regulators should urgently investigate whether water company United Utilities has been illegally spilling sewage into one of the UK’s most protected sites. Esthwaite Water, in the heart of the Lake District, was beloved by William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter – and campaigners say they had to get the Information Commissioner involved in the struggle to obtain data. The water company has strongly denied claims that it released sewage into the lake.
Ed: Prof Hammond’s analysis points to a massive cover up.
20 June 2025 – The i Paper: Revealed: Water firms dump sewage 2,380 times at iconic Blue Flag beaches.
There have also been more 1,000 sewage spills around all UK beaches over the past few days as Britons head to the sea this weekend to enjoy the hot weather. Despite the scorching temperatures this week, which look set to continue over the weekend, there have been more than 1,000 sewage spills around all UK beaches in recent days, according to the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaign.
Ed: The public have a right to clean beaches.
19 June 2025 – The Independent: Pollution fines of more than £100m will go to environmental projects, Defra says.
Concerns had been raised the cash from fines on water companies would not be ringfenced for schemes such as river restoration. The Environment Department (Defra) said more than £100 million in fines and penalties levied on water firms for breaches such as illegal sewage spills since October 2023 – as well as future fines – will be reinvested in projects to clean up England’s waters.
Ed: Good news. Let’s see how much does in fact get reinvested.
13 June 2025 – Putney.News: Tidal trouble: new sewage plan could impact Putney’s river users.
The Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project, is being promoted as a vital step to secure London’s water supply during future droughts. It involves diverting up to 75 million litres per day of highly treated wastewater from the Mogden Sewage Treatment Works in Isleworth and piping it into the Thames just upstream of Teddington Lock. In Putney, where rowing clubs, schools, and leisure users rely heavily on the river, any reduction in water quality—real or perceived—could discourage participation.
Ed: Replacing abstracted clean water with ‘highly treated’ wastewater is a recipe for more pollution incidents.
10 June 2025 – Greenpeace UK: Water firms panicking over disposal of millions of tonnes of contaminated sewage sludge.
Defra has been reviewing its guidance on protecting water from agricultural pollution, and water companies believe reform of the agricultural pollution rules could result in an outright ban on manure spreading in the autumn, when there is less need for nutrients from crops. According to Water UK, however, around 70% of sewage sludge is spread in the autumn, and “prohibiting or further constraining that practice would introduce very large and unquantified costs” for the water companies.
Ed: Why contaminate our crops to save the water companies some expense? See also BBC’s coverage.
9 June 2025 – New Civil Engineer: Ofwat orders Northumbrian Water to pay £15.7M enforcement package for wastewater failings.
The decision marks a departure from a traditional financial penalty, which would have seen any fines paid returned to the government’s Consolidated Fund. Instead, like the £40M enforcement imposed on Yorkshire Water earlier this year, the package ensures the money stays within the region’s water industry to deliver tangible improvements.
Ed: Not a massive amount of money, but good that the funds remain in the region.
4 June 2025 – The i Paper: Lewes looks like an idyll. Yet it represents so much that is wrong with the UK.
The county town of East Sussex, as elsewhere in the UK, has experienced soaring social inequality over the past 45 years. Until three months ago, the struggle to save the Ouse by people living in Lewes and the Ouse valley did not significantly differ from campaigns to save other rivers in England, which are under threat. But in February, the Ouse became the first river in the country to have its status as a living entity – with its own rights comparable to those of an individual or company – recognised officially.
Ed: The ‘Rights of Rivers’ is a concept which could save many of our rivers from pollution.
8 June 2025 – BBC News Gloucestershire: Exhibition shines light on River Wye pollution.
A group of artists are raising awareness of the “catastrophic problem” of pollution in the River Wye with an exhibition. Campaigners from the Save the Wye group have created a display of 16 glass panels which trace the journey of the river and the build-up of pollution as it flows towards the sea. It is on display at the Forest of Dean District Council offices in Coleford, Gloucestershire until 30 June.
Ed: The power of art to inform. Catch this exhibition if you can.
7 June 2025 – The Guardian: Bidders demand Thames Water granted immunity over environmental crimes.
‘Ransom note’ requests would leave Environment Agency unable to prosecute company or management. Creditors want the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to grant the water company extraordinary clemency from a series of strict rules covering everything from sewage spills to failure to upgrade its water treatment works.
Ed: RKK may be gone but now creditors want immunity. No way!
3 June 2025 – BBC News: Failing water sector needs stronger regulation, says damning review.
The independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, said on Tuesday that public trust had been shaken by “pollution, financial difficulties, mismanagement [and] infrastructure failures”. It added that there needed to be clearer direction from government, a better approach to long-term investment, and a stronger voice for local communities.
Ed: Commission was prohibited from considering nationalisation and so its findings are limited.
3 June 2025 – BBC news: Thames Water’s future in doubt after investor pulls out.
Thames Water has suffered a major blow in its attempt to secure its future after US private equity giant KKR pulled out of a £4bn rescue deal for the company. The setback increases the possibility that the UK’s biggest water company will collapse into a government-supervised administration. It is understood KKR pulled out of the deal in part due to the political and regulatory risk surrounding the firm.
Ed: RKK is no great loss!
May 2025
28 May 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water hit with £123m of fines over sewage and dividend breaches.
As Ofwat imposes record fine for environmental failing, minister says ‘era of profiting from failure is over’. Thames Water has been hit with a record £104m fine over environmental breaches … [and] an £18.2m fine for breaking dividend rules, the first of its kind in the industry.
Ed: At long last! Why not years ago?
23 May 2025 – The i Paper: How Britain is at risk of running out of tap water by 2026.
Major upgrades are needed to Britain’s old, leaky infrastructure to prevent this happening again as the UK’s weather becomes more extreme. With the UK currently experiencing its driest spring in over a century, early alarm bells are starting to sound over the country’s water supply.
Ed: Our water companies have not built a single reservoir in decades.
20 May 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water: big bonuses due from emergency £3bn loan ‘withdrawn’.
[Environment Secretary] Reed told the environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) committee on Tuesday that the retention payment plan had been withdrawn by Thames Water. He said: “I am very happy indeed that Thames have now dropped those proposals. It was the wrong thing to do. They have now withdrawn their proposal to make those payments.”
Ed: How can the CEO of a major corporation “mis-speak”?
19 May 2025 – The Guardian: Citizen testing reveals phosphate ‘crisis’ in English and Welsh rivers.
Citizen testing of rivers in England and Wales by anglers reveals that more than a third of freshwater sites breach phosphate levels for good ecological status. Volunteers from angling groups are using the data to try to drive change in the way rivers are treated – but the task ahead is huge, according to the Angling Trust and Fish Legal.
Ed: Anglers from Kent, Hampshire and Warwickshire took part in the survey.
18 May 2025 – ITV News: Surfers unite at sewage protests across the south.
Surfers, swimmers and kayakers took part in a mass Paddle-Out at more than 40 sites across the country, including Brighton, Hastings, Boscombe, Ryde, Bournemouth and Lyme Regis, and at Victoria Park Boating Pond in Newbury.
Ed: Surfers and other water users have a right to clean safe water.
16 May 2025 – BBC News: Sewage spill couple ‘outraged’ and out-of-pocket.
The leak happened in Green Lane, Sonning Common, Oxfordshire, as workers tried to clear a blockage in a nearby street caused by a build-up of fat, oil and grease. Thames Water has agreed to remove pea gravel from the home that has been contaminated, as well as any plants, but it will not pay to reinstate the garden. It has left keen gardener Clare Talbot and her husband Malcolm facing a large bill or costly insurance claim.
Ed: Again a water company refuses to take responsibility for its actions.
15 May 2025 – Yorkshire Post Letters: Appalling customer service from Yorkshire Water left sewage all over my path.
The appalling service now inflicted on its customers by Yorkshire Water has been brought home forcefully to me over the last week when I had to report a sewer blockage [which was] dumping piles of toilet paper and human excrement all over my path. I reported the problem … and was told that someone would be out within four days.
Ed: Surely four days is not an acceptable level of service for an acute sewage issue?
14 May 2025 – Daily Express: Warning as people at iconic UK seaside spot ‘could be swimming in sewage’.
People at one of the UK’s most famous seaside swimming spots could be swimming in sewage, an MP has warned. Lloyd Hatton, told Sir Keir Starmer earlier today at Prime Minister’s Questions that the spot is “one of the most iconic bathing sites in all the country”, adding he visited last Friday with representatives from neighbouring constituencies to test the water quality. Mr Hatton said: “Currently, the water quality testing at bathing sites is only monitored from mid May to September, which puts the health of all water users at risk.”
Ed: Iconic Durdle Door needs more frequent monitoring.
14 May 2025 – The Times: ‘Irreplaceable’ Cornish coral beds could be killed by sewage.
Algae has covered large amounts of unique 4,000-year-old maerl beds, which are crucial to marine life and carbon storage. The maerl beds of the Fal and Helford estuaries in Cornwall were designated as a Marine Protected Area in 2005 but a recent dive revealed a “worrying deterioration” in the ecosystems in the Fal estuary, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said.
Ed: What price 4,000 year-old coral?
15 May 2025 – Cornwall Live: Mass paddle out to protest ‘lies, greed and incompetence’ behind sewage spills.
Hundreds of protestors are expected to take part in a mass paddle out at beaches in Cornwall this weekend to demand action on sewage pollution. The move follows a number of sewage alerts have been issued across the region.
Ed: Paddleboarders deserve cleaner waters from the water companies.
14 May 2025 – Cheshire Live: Sewage spews onto land at Crewe housing estate near to children’s play area.
Anwyl Homes says it is investigating how sewage spewed onto land at one of its new housing developments in Crewe close to a children’s play area. Cheshire East Council and the Environment Agency (EA) were both called to the pollution incident at the Alexandra Gardens site over the weekend and cordoned off the affected area.
Ed: Housing developers are responsible for ensuring sewage is safely transported to the water company’s assets.
15 May 2025 – Daily Express: Over half of people ‘worried’ about falling sick amid sewage crisis.
At least 54% of adults had concerns, the survey of 2,000 people for Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) showed. Giles Bristow, CEO of SAS, said: “Another year, another summer of swimming and surfing in sewage while our shameless water companies laugh all the way to the bank.
Ed: The public have a right to clean safe bathing waters.
13 May 2025 – BBC News: Damaged pipes blamed for surge in sewage alerts.
A water company says damaged pipes and broken valves are to blame for an increase in the number of sewage pollution alerts on an East Yorkshire beach. Visitors to Hornsea told BBC Radio Humberside their confidence in beach cleanliness had diminished.
Ed: Good that sewage alerts flagged up the damage.
15 May 2025 – Sky News: Welsh Water fined £1.35m over sewage discharge monitoring.
The company was fined and ordered to pay costs after pleading guilty to over 800 breaches of its sewage discharge permits in 2020 and 2021. The non-compliances … were summarised into 18 offences. The discharges were spread across 300 sites throughout Wales and Herefordshire.
Ed: A paltry fine for 18 offences. And why has it taken so long to bring a prosecution?
14 May 2025 – The Guardian: Attempt to protect rare chalk streams in planning bill rejected by Labour MPs.
Government vetoes cross-party effort to protect threatened waterways from push to rip up environmental red tape. Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, said … “We don’t believe it is necessary to include the provision in this legislation”.
Ed: Chalk streams need all the protection they can get.
14 May 2025 – The Guardian: Exceptionally low river flows forecast across UK as drought threat grows.
An update from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) says dry, warm weather is expected over the next three months, putting pressure on water resources. This can lead to exceptionally low river flows, which may result in large-scale fish deaths and increase the pressure on rivers, particularly if water companies continue to spill sewage into them.
Ed: My old Alma Mater warns that low river flows will compound sewage pollution.
13 May 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water finances were ‘hair raising’, chair tells MPs.
The UK’s biggest water company came within just five weeks of running out of money, Adrian Montague told MPs on Tuesday. Thames’ chief executive, Chris Weston, was also asked to justify his bonus of £195,000 for three months of work after he joined the company in January 2024.
Ed: This from one of our writers: “Companies should not be in a position where it is too expensive in terms of national finances for them to be allowed to fail. That amounts to virtual blackmail. That’s Labour’s current position it seems. Water company behaviour has been so bad that TW at least should now be nationalised, on poor terms for the current owners. That would send a message to the others: the Govt is in charge and you do what we want or else. Ofwat should be abolished. It’s done a poor job although Govt. Is ultimately responsible, and Govt has done a worse job. We have a new Govt now and expect them to do better.“
13 May 2025 – The Guardian: A torrent of special pleas from Thames Water.
Company hopes to win big compromises from regulators to get its financial restructuring over the line. Thames Water’s chief executive, Chris Weston … “discussing with the regulator the concept of a turnaround regime that might provide some relief from the normal regulatory environment while a company recovers its operations”.
Ed: This ‘turnaround regime’ is an excuse to weaken regulation to allow higher profits.
7 May 2025 – BBC News: Swim firm folds blaming water quality in Thames.
Henley Swim has been running events on the River Thames for over 20 years, including the Henley Swim Festival and the Thames Marathon from Henley to Marlow. Henley Swim said: “The relentless publicity about the quality of the water in the Thames has put thousands of people off the idea of open water swimming which has led to an unprecedented drop in the number of registrations”.
Ed: Thousands of open water swimmers deprived of what should be a very healthy activity.
7 May 2025 – PA Media: The Project – Surfers Against Sewage.
PA Media Assignments was commissioned to support a campaign for Surfers Against Sewage, coinciding with the publication of a new report revealing that England’s water industry had failed its pollution reduction targets between 2020 and 2025.
Ed: Watch out for this creative video on the Surfers Against sewage website.
4 May 2025 – The Independent: Warning UK rivers are ‘toxic chemical soup’ as all now plagued by sewage.
Leading campaign group Surfers Against Sewage is calling on the government and water companies to tackle the issue, as new data showed only 40 per cent of rivers are deemed to be in good ecological health.
Ed: The pollution of our rivers by sewage is now so chronic that, even if we act now, they will take years to recover.
3 May 2025 – The i Paper: 100,000 people give up wild swimming due to Britain’s polluted rivers.
Open-water swimming had been on the rise every year since Sports England first started collecting figures for its Active Lives survey in 2016/17 – with more than half a million people regularly taking the plunge to exercise and commune with nature. But new survey data for the year up to November 2024 shows the first ever decline, with figures falling by 15 per cent – and pollution is being blamed.
Ed: A major outdoor activity is threatened by sewage pollution.
3 May 2025 – The Guardian: Treasury threatens Defra with £4bn bill if Thames Water nationalised.
Existing budgets at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which insiders describe as already stretched, would have to be used to meet the burden of keeping Thames Water afloat if bids to save the company fail, according to sources.
Ed: This penny-pinching by the Treasury is a threat to deter nationalisation.
2 May 2025 – Oxford Mail: KKR’s Thames Water bid under fire in House of Lords.
In Parliament on Tuesday (April 29) Labour Lord Sikka said Thames Water’s nominated future owner has a business model that revolves around “profiteering, high leverage, low investment, asset stripping and high cash extraction”. The peer was referring to US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which is already a minority shareholder of Northumbrian Water.
Ed: Glad that someone is speaking up against the choice of KKR.
April 2025
27 April 2025 – The i Paper: The five areas that could run out of water by 2050.
With England facing shortfalls of 5 billion litres of water a day at current levels of supply, we look at which regions face the biggest risk of water scarcity. According to the Environment Agency, the south-east is expected to be hit the hardest by looming water shortfalls, which are forecast to total 5 billion litres a day across England by 2050. This is more than a third of the 14 billion litres of water used across the UK every day.
Ed: This lack of investment in critical infrastructure is yet another reason to nationalise our water industry.
25 April 2025 – National Audit Office (NAO): Regulators have failed to deliver a trusted and resilient water sector.
Gareth Davies (Head of NAO): “Given the unprecedented situation facing the sector, Defra and the regulators need to act urgently to address industry performance and resilience to ensure the sector can meet government targets and achieve value for money over the long term for bill payers.”
Ed: This lays out what needs to be done. Let’s get started!
17 April 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage pollution (WASP): Judgement Day.
On 17th March the Appeal Court Judges announced their decision to uphold the High Court’s decision to allow Thames Water’s hugely expensive restructuring plan. We have been waiting for the Appeal Court Judges’ reasoning for their decision and it finally arrived on 15th April. The legal team … will be looking under and around every word of the judgement before advising on the options.
Ed: Please let us or WASP have your view on the judgement.
17 April 2025 – England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions: Reasons for refusing appeal against £3bn grant to Thames Water.
Para 87 of the judgement says: “… was a public policy in favour of rescuing the Group and giving the market the chance to agree a permanent restructuring plan before the Government is forced into funding a SAR”.
Ed: So the Court sided with the government on this. What a waste of time and lawyers.
3 April 2025 – We Own It: What could Thames Water look like in public ownership?
1) A supervisory governing board with representatives from households, workers, communities, environmental groups, local councils and water experts.
2) A public mission with new duties to: Make sure everyone can afford water; Work with communities to clean up rivers and seas; Reduce carbon emissions; Steward public assets and land for the future
3) New powers for you and your household to: Vote against any proposals to reprivatise! Access all data about company performance on sewage, leaks, customer service; Attend board meetings and ask questions; Visit Thames Water’s shopfront on a high street near you; Give feedback or new ideas for improving the service; Help make plans with local groups for cleaning up rivers and seas; Vote for representatives of Participate, the new democratically accountable watchdog for everyone who uses Thames Water’s services (or stand for election yourself)
Ed: Noble aims but will the government listen?
16 April 2025 – The Guardian: Water companies’ pollution incidents in England increased by 30% in 2024.
The sector, which had been set a target to reduce spillages by 40%, needs ‘radical reform’, campaigners say. A new report by the charity Surfers Against Sewage using discharge data, sickness data and figures from its app, which uses citizen science to track sewage spills, reveals that the water industry in England failed to hit its targets for reducing pollution incidents for the last investment period of 2020-2025.
Ed: What’s the point in “targets” if there are no penalties for missing them?
5 April 2025 – The Standard: Feargal Sharkey: Selling Thames Water to private equity sounds like a sick joke to me.
That epic 1989 book Barbarians at the Gate is not a tale of fantasy, it is in reality a first-hand account of the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco and its subsequent break up — it is also the tail of the rise of American investment firm KKR which has just been announced as the preferred bidder for Thames Water.
Ed: I can’t believe that HMG is sticking with this failed way of running our water industry. Carte blanche for vampire capitalists.
9 April 2025 – Professor Sir Dieter Helm on X: From the unsustainable to the sustainable: how to reform water and sewerage in England and Wales.
This is the first of two papers on water. This first one addresses the sustainable water and sewerage systems; the second looks at no-regrets reforms that can be implemented now.
Ed: Helm proposes a very radical solution. I’m not certain that it’s viable. Comments welcome!
9 April 2025 – The Guardian: Campaigners find sewage pollution and E coli in Boat Race water.
Tests ahead of Sunday’s race revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing water. Water quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution.
Ed: Even after dry weather sewage is still pouring into the Thames.
4 April 2025 – BBC News: Campaigners say sewage in river is ‘a horror’.
Campaigners have described the amount of untreated sewage that is being pumped into the River Ouse in East Sussex as “a horror”. There have been more hours of spills from one outfall known as Ham Lane, near Lewes, than any other storm overflow in the South East for three years running, according to figures released by Southern Water.
Ed: Yet another example of a water company not repairing its leaky sewers.
4 April 2025 – Good Law Project: Thames Water dumps tonnes of sewage on parliament’s doorstep.
Between 2020 and 2024, the five storm overflows located within a half a mile of Downing Street have poured sewage out into the river for a total of almost 900 hours. Two of these sewer overflows operate next to a bust of Sir Joseph Balzagette – the engineer who built the Victorian sewer network that London still relies on.
Ed: Can our MPs not “smell the coffee”?
2 April 2025 – Gazette and Herald: Pickering anglers win landmark legal battle against Government.
A GROUP of North Yorkshire anglers have won a landmark legal battle against the Government for failing to protect and restore a river ecosystem. In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court judgment from December 2023 that the Government and Environment Agency had failed in their legal duties to review, update and put in place specific measures to restore the Costa Beck near Pickering.
Ed: This could be a landmark ruling to empower local groups to requires specific improvements to rivers.
2 April 2025 – The Star: Councillors call for urgent action to tackle sewage in Rotherham’s rivers.
Rotherham Borough Council will consider a motion at the next full council meeting on April 9, proposed by Councillor Drew Tarmey and seconded by Councillor Adam Carter which calls upon the government to increase in the budget for the Environment Agency to strengthen its ability to monitor and regulate water quality.
Ed: Good to see local councils putting pressure on government funding for the EA.
March 2025
31 March 2025 – The Guardian: The barbarians are at the gates of the sewage works.
Choosing KKR as the preferred bidder for the UK’s biggest water company may not fill Thames Water’s workers with joy. Say hello to KKR, the preferred bidder for the UK’s biggest water company. If you remember them as the original “barbarians at the gate”, the US private equity firm would probably point out that the reference to a leveraged buyout of a US biscuit company is more than 35 years old.
Ed: This perpetuates the private equity stranglehold on the water industry. It will solve nothing.
27 March 2025 – The Guardian: ‘The nation is watching’: sewage dumps in Windermere must end, says activist.
Ministers urged to do more after United Utilities discharged raw sewage into Unesco site for 6,327 hours last year. This month the environment secretary, Steve Reed, vowed to break with the recent past, standing on its shores and promising that Labour would “clean up Windermere”. Reed’s promise was welcomed as a historic moment by Matt Staniek, a campaigner who has almost singlehandedly brought the lake’s plight to national consciousness. But Staniek, who formed the group Save Windermere, added that it was just the beginning of the mission to save the lake.
Ed: Steve Reed needs to follow up his words with action!
17 March 2025 – New Statesman: Who let the BBC inside Thames Water?
The water company has made a calamitous mistake in letting TV cameras capture its day-to-day operations.
Ed: How not to promote a failing company. Do watch if you can.
25 March 2025 – Slough & South Berks Express: Sir Steve Redgrave demands end to River Thames sewage ‘pollution for profit’.
Gold-medal winning Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave has called on the Government to take action to tackle the ‘catastrophe’ of River Thames sewage pollution. In a letter to Environment Secretary Steve Reed, the Marlow rowing icon called for urgent intervention to tackle ‘pollution for profit’ undertaken by water companies.
Ed: We need celebrities like Sir Steve to put pressure on the government.
25 March 2025 – BBC News: Thames Water criticised for sewage spill response.
Melisa Kuipers, from Woking Borough Council, said on Monday that the sewage had still not been cleared away and Thames Water had failed to properly notify the public about the spill.
Ed: Where was the planned maintenance?
23 March 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Polution (WASP): New boss – worse performance – big bonus.
Four years after WASP’s Prof Peter Hammond ripped the lid off the sewage scandal and showed an epidemic of illegal pollution, Thames Water shows how ineffective the hot air from government and regulators has been, by increasing its sewage dumping hours by 50%. Lots of talk, lots of monitoring, threats and promises but one key feature remains: Illegal pollution is still profitable and with perfectly adequate legislation in place, it is our successive governments’ choice that it remains so.
Ed: WASP’s data shows pollution is still profitable.
20 March 2025 – The i Paper: Hundreds of jobs protecting rivers and green belt to be axed.
At least 200 jobs are to be axed at Natural England, with the environmental sector braced for further budget cuts as part of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Spending Review. Cuts at the quango could result in further delays within England’s planning system, while also jeopardising work to protect rivers and deliver nature restoration, experts have warned.
Ed: Short sighted by the Chancellor.
18 March 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water data reveals raw sewage discharges in rivers rose 50% in 2024.
Almost 300,000 hours of raw effluent poured into waterways, figures show, up from 196,000 in 2023, The data, obtained by the analyst Peter Hammond in answer to an environmental information request to the company, comes after Thames Water won approval from the court of appeal for a £3bn emergency debt bailout to avoid collapse.
Ed: This just confirms that Thames Water are still making a profit out of polluting.
17 March 2025 – BBC News: Thames Water’s £3bn rescue deal cleared by court.
A £3bn rescue loan for Thames Water is set to go ahead after an appeal against the deal was dismissed. The troubled firm secured the rescue loan in February, to stave off the prospect of the debt-laden company coming under government control. But a small group of lenders had argued against the terms of the deal, while Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard had argued that extra lending was not in the public interest. The Court of Appeal said it would issue written reasons for its decision to dismiss the appeal “in due course”.
Ed: A disappointing decision. Let’s see what the court’s reasons were.
15 March 2025 – New Straits Times: Sewage stains Britain’s waters and reputation.
BENEATH the murky waters off southern England, 400 million mussels cling to ropes hanging from buoys spread over an area the size of the country’s biggest airport. Almost 5km from shore at its nearest point, Europe’s largest offshore mussel farm was built by the Holmyard family in Lyme Bay, where they believed it would be free of the millions of litres of sewage pumped into British waters each year. But even this far offshore, harmful bacteria such as E.coli can pollute the water, blocking exports to continental Europe for weeks and threatening a sustainable food business.
Ed: This pollution is staggering and a worry to mussel eaters as far as Singapore!
14 March 2025 – Guildford Dragon: Letter: Our Sewers Cannot Cope with More Homes.
The sewer system serviced by the Guildford sewer treatment plant is, in effect, permanently flooded. It is no longer fit for purpose and no new properties should be added to the works until the new works come online in 2026.
Ed: A common complaint I’m afraid. New builds are allowed if the water company SAYS it can cope. But often it can’t.
13 March 2025 – BBC News: Sewage spill wildlife concerns as water bills rise.
Untreated sewage spilling into a village stream has caused a noticeable decline in wildlife, a local resident has said. Greg Knowlson, who lives next to the treatment works at South Moreton in Oxfordshire, said he had observed the decrease in Mill Brook’s trout and otter populations in recent years. According to Thames Water data, untreated sewage has been released into the brook daily since 3 February – a total of more than 900 hours.
Ed: Even in the idyllic Cotswolds Thames Water pollute our streams.
12 March 2025 – Swim England: Swim England welcomes introduction of new bathing water reforms.
… recreational water users like paddlers, surfers, sailors and rowers – and not just swimmers – will benefit from better water quality at bathing water locations.
Ed: Welcome reforms but the water quality still needs to improve.
13 March 2025 – Morning Star: Thames Water must wait to discover if restructure OK to be overturned.
Thames Water must wait to discover whether the approval of a plan to restructure the struggling utility will be overturned at the Court of Appeal. At the end of the hearing on Thursday, Julian Flaux, sitting with Nicholas Patten and Lord Justice Zacaroli, said that they would hand down their judgment in writing at a later date.
Ed: Let’s hope the decision is to overturn the £3b restructuring.
9 March 2025 – The Argus: Burst pipe discharges ‘raw sewage’ in Brighton.
“Raw sewage” currently discharging onto pavement by Brighton Zip. Southern Water have confirmed they will be carrying out repairs on the collapsed sewer.
Ed: So what happened to any planned maintenance on this sewer?
9 March 2025 – The Telegraph: Thames Water nationalisation puts £20bn pipe and sewage upgrade at risk.
Government intervention in utility company ‘could trigger a supply chain crisis’. London is at risk of being swamped by burst pipes and sewage leaks if Thames Water is forced into an emergency nationalisation later this month…
Ed: More scaremongering from the right-wing press.
28 February 2025 – West Country Voices: Could group’s ‘groundbreaking’ legal claim against South West Water turn the tide against sewage pollution?
The community-led group claim will argue that it is unlawful for South West Water to continue allowing sewage discharges to cause a nuisance and interfere with the public rights of members of the local community to use beaches, the sea and rivers.
Ed: From our sister publication last month. Again we’ll keep you updated on this.
8 March 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Thames Water Appeal.
On Tuesday, 11th March, the Appeal Court will start to hear the case for the public interest in the ultra-expensive, and we say futile, Thames Water restructuring plan. WASP put the original intervention into motion in December and highlighted it outside the Royal Courts of Justice. We saw that, incredibly, and clearly wrongly, there was no one representing the billpayer or public and knew we had to act. The government, Ofwat, and the Consumer Council for Water, all with a duty to represent us, were inexplicably missing from action when they were needed.
Ed: We shall of course report on this Appeal Court hearing.
7 March 2025 – Cornwall Live: South West Water’s ‘monumental’ sewage ‘cock-up’ in Cornwall village.
South West Water (SWW) is sending tankers to a new north Cornwall housing estate after mistakenly telling a developer there was an adequate sewage disposal system. SWW tankers are now a daily sight at the Chapelfields development in St Mabyn, near Wadebridge, as residents move into their new homes… which have no sewage connection.
Ed: Yet another example of a water company saying they have the capacity to cope with a development whereas in fact they do not (and they know it).
5 March 2025 – The Guardian: River campaigners to sue Ofwat over water bill rises.
Group claims regulator signed off on ‘broken system’ making customers pay for industry’s neglect. River Action will file the legal claim this month, arguing that bill rises for customers that have been approved by the regulator could be used to fix infrastructure failures that should have been addressed years ago.
Ed: We’ll keep you posted on this.
4 March 2025 – The Guardian: US supreme court weakens rules on discharge of raw sewage into water supplies.
The US supreme court has weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage into water supplies in a 5-4 ruling that undermines the 1972 Clean Water Act.
Ed: A worrying precedent in the USA.
3 March 2025 – The Canary: Now Thames Water is trying to get out of its Ofwat fines for sewage spills.
The creditors’ rationale for requesting a pause on fines is to ensure that any new capital injected into Thames Water is allocated towards enhancing its deteriorating infrastructure rather than being diverted to pay penalties.
Ed: They’ve never invested in infrastructure in the pas so why should we think they will do so now?
3 March 2025 – The Mill: Why is United Utilities withholding essential data on sewage dumping?
According to Jamie Woodward, a professor of geography at the University of Manchester … “Until we have volume data we really don’t know the scale of damage they’re inflicting,”
Ed: If United Utilities have nothing to hide why don’t they release the data?
3 March 2025 – The Times: Raw sewage poured into Windermere for 6,000 hours last year.
Official Environment Agency figures … show that six sewage treatment works and pumping stations in the lake’s catchment released untreated sewage from outfalls for 6,327 hours last year, in line with recent years despite pressure on United Utilities to act. The tally is now more than 33,000 hours since 2020, according to an analysis of spill stop-start times by Peter Hammond of the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.
Ed: Time for Steve Reed to act on a level of pollution he describes as “unacceptable”.
1 March 2025 – Envirotech: Aston University microbiologist calls for public awareness and urgent action on raw sewage in UK seas.
Dr. Jonathan Cox, a microbiologist at Aston University … contracted a bacterial lung infection in spring 2024, likely due to swimming in waters contaminated by a recent sewage discharge. This was confirmed by Surfers Against Sewage, a charity that tracks water pollution incidents, who reported the discharge just hours before Dr. Cox swam in the area.
Ed: Until water companies stop sewage discharges onto our beaches, check the water quality before swimming!
2 March 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Meanwhile, in the Shires…
Many people have woken up to the privatisation scam. The first and last question at the WASP talk at Burford, Oxfordshire on Friday was: ‘Hands up if you think privatisation of water should end.’ [The answer was a unanimous “Yes”.]
Ed: I was there to hear WASP inform locals about the High Court hearing on Thames Water’s £3b loan and what action the public can take to stop river pollution.
Archive — February 2025
28 February 2025 – Eastern Daily Press: Norfolk’s ‘worst spot for sewage’ continues to have problems.
One of the worst spots for sewage incidents in Norfolk has been blighted by fresh problems despite £1.1m engineering works to improve the situation. Sewage problems have arisen in Grimston again despite work to tackle the problem,
Ed: Maybe the “improvements” weren’t sufficient?
26 February 2025 – The Independent: Sewage overflows ‘not good enough’, boss of North West water supplier says.
The water firm behind historic sewage spills in the UK’s Lake Windermere has said issues cannot be fixed “instantly”, as heavy rainfall and storms in the North West of England have driven more flooding incidents. The chief executive of United Utilities also said she was “alive to the issues of trust and transparency” in the water sector after receiving a £1.4 million pay packet last year.
Ed: It shows lack of responsibility to take her pay when she cannot deliver the infrastructure needed to stop sewage spills.
25 February 2025 – Eastern Daily Press: Sewage spills onto Gorleston beach due to heavy rainfall.
A spokesman for [Coastwatch] – part of the National Coastwatch Institution – said that the spill was the fault of Anglian Water. A spokeswoman for Anglian Water said: “The storm overflow (CSO) at Gorleston was activated for one hour yesterday following the recent rainfall the area saw over the weekend”.
Ed: Yet another beach polluted.
25 February 2025 – The i Paper: The seven new water reservoirs planned for England.
Construction is about to start on the first new UK reservoir in three decades – with others set to follow in the coming years. If all goes according to plan, the £325m Havant Thicket reservoir in Hampshire will be up and running in 2031.
Ed: At last some investment in infrastructure.
24 February 2025 – Bristol Live: Bristol one of the worst cities for sewage spills prompting calls for urgent action.
Responding to these calls, council bosses have suggested they should carry on work that was already happening. No action will be taken on encouraging the use of water butts, while other steps like setting up a database of water quality will be referred to different organisations to do.
Ed: Councils can only do so much. Responsibility lies with the water companies.
24 February 2025 – Cornwall Live: Sewage spilled at 34 beaches in Cornwall after weekend of torrential rain.
Last week, Annie McKelvey, senior water quality data officer at Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Humpback whales might be gracing the Cornish coastline, but South West Water is putting on its own spectacular sewage display, with 1,000 discharges flowing into our waterways in just three days.
Ed: When will South West Water invest in preventing sewage spills?
24 February 2025 – BBC News: Sewage pipe campaign group to hold meetings.
The four-mile (6.4km) pipe is intended to carry treated sewage across Shropshire from Bishop’s Castle to the River Onny. The Onny is home to various wildlife, including otters, .kingfishers and dippers. It also contains a strong population of brown trout and grayling, as well as being an important habitat for Atlantic salmon.
Ed: The plan to divert sewage from an already polluted river to a pristine one is irresponsible.
24 February 2025 – The i Paper: How your food and water could be contaminated by sewage spread on UK farms.
New evidence has emerged of threats to the environment and human health posed by around 170,000 truckloads of sludge spread each year. A new study … found that the use of sludge in the UK could be destroying soil health and the wider environment.
Ed: Too little is known about the effect of sewage sludge on the land and our food.
23 February 2025 – Kent & Surrey Bylines: England’s failing water industry and its costly future.
England’s failing water industry exposes decades of mismanagement and profit-driven neglect. Will the Labour government step up or fail to take control?
Ed: This article proposes that water companies should hand over shares to a “Community Interest Company (CIC) or trust”.
21 February 2025 – Oxford Mail: Witney: objection raised to plans for 370 homes by A40.
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) submitted an objection to the outline planning application over concerns the development would put additional strain on sewage works in neighbouring areas.
Ed: Yet another example of a development with the necessary sewage treatment infrastructure.
19 February 2025 – Good Law Project: Robert Macfarlane: We shouldn’t have to risk our health every time we get in the water.
Water companies are drowning in debt and pumping out sewage. It’s time for Labour to get serious on water pollution. To dive into a river now is all too often to enter a murky, hazardous zone, turbid with the run-off from corporate neglect.
Ed: Maybe Macfarlane’s book ‘Is a river alive?’ can move the government to action.
17 February 2025 – Metro: Couple drowned in floods because sewage system ‘couldn’t cope’ with heavy rain.
Elaine and Philip Marco, 76 and 77, were attempting to drive under a bridge in the Mossley Hill area when the road suddenly flooded in August 2023. Witnesses saw a ‘plume of water’ bursting out of a blown manhole cover, according to an independent report published by Liverpool City Council on Monday [which] … urged United Utilities, the council, and Network Rail, which operates the bridge, to find a permanent solution to the problem.
Ed: Clearly a lack of investment in necessary infrastructure.
18 February 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): WASP at Burford.
WASP at Burford 7PM Friday February 28th. Water company scandal, regulatory failure, the court case, and bang up to date including a Q and A with Ash Smith and Prof Peter Hammond – and quite probably, some more expertise from the WASP nest. It will be in the Old Hall at Warwick Hall, Burford.
Ed: Please get there if you’re near Burford.
18 February 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Throwing almost £1billion down the drain.
Mr Justice Leech handed down a decision that will allow the proposed Thames Water restructuring plan that will result in just under £1billion of customers’ bills being spent on lawyers’ fees, advisors and interest payments to creditors- in about 6 months.
Ed: This is simply because the government failed to place Thames Water into Special Administration; a process designed to stop this lunacy happening.
18 February 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water wins court backing for £3bn debt package.
Deal approved at high court gives company £1.5bn in upfront cash to stave off collapse. The Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard was allowed to intervene in the case to argue that the interests of consumers would be better served by placing the company into special administration, essentially temporary nationalisation. He argued that that would limit the outflow of cash on expensive fees and interest charges.
Ed: This is a disappointing judgement but understandable due to the government’s refusal to attend the hearing.
10 February 2025 – West England Bylines: Environmental campaigners challenge Thames Water’s attempt to raise massive loan at the High Court.
Thames Water faces a challenge from environmental campaigners, WASP, to its attempt to raise an emergency loan of up to £3bn. Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) is a small charity working to call Thames Water (TW) to account over its continued pollution of our rivers. It is supported by We Own It and the local MP for Witney, Charlie Maynard. Late last December, they delivered a letter to the High Court to ask how they, in the interests of customers, could be heard alongside the company and its creditors.
Ed: An excellent review of the case so far.
8 February 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Judge slams Government and Ofwat!
Could it have come from Environment Secretary, Steve Reed and his advisors, and from the Ofwat Chief Executive when Mr Justice Leech spoke these withering words in the High Court as he concluded Thames Water’s hearing for an expensive customer-funded bailout? “It would have been nice, I think, if either Ofwat or the Secretary of State had felt the need to turn up and explain the position to the court”.
Ed: A dereliction of duty by the government and Ofwat.
5 February 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): How much?
Day 3 of the High Court sanctions hearing for Thames Water’s restructuring plan and the potential extra £3billion loan to add to the £19 billion that brought it to need a loan. We say the company should go into Special Administration, where the public interest can be protected and a good solution can be found to end 35 years of putting shareholders before service delivery.
Ed: Witney MP Charlie Maynard and WASP make the case for the public.
4 February 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water may need £10bn investment to repair finances, high court hears.
Struggling company may require significantly more resources than roughly £6.3bn it previously indicated. The funding crisis has put pressure on the government to go ahead with a temporary nationalisation, amid complaints over steep bill increases and widespread outrage over sewage flowing into Britain’s rivers and seas.
Ed: And it gets worse …
3 February 2025 – The Guardian: UK scientist wins prize for invention that could help avert ‘phosphogeddon’.
Phosphate, key to food production, is choking waterways, but a new sponge-like material returns it to the soil for crops. “Our product has a straightforward goal – to transfer phosphates from rivers and lakes where they are causing real damage and move them in a simple manner to farmland, where they can be of use in growing crops.”
Ed: If this works, our rivers will be a lot cleaner.
4 February 2025 – GMB Union: Thames Water High Court battle ‘Futile’.
Gary Carter. GMB National Officer, said: “Creditors battling it out to loan Thames large sums of cash and increase its debt mountain of debt have the long-term interests of the company at heart. It’s a futile exercise. “Thames requires stable, long-term investment. The time has come to put Thames out of its misery and put it into special administration, essentially renationalising it.”
Ed: The view from Thames Water employees is worth listening to.
3 February 2025 – The Times: Judge considers extension in crucial Thames Water court hearing.
Utility company’s creditors clash in High Court as the indebted company faces a delay that could lead to temporary ‘renationalisation’. After five-and-a-half hours of often tortuous examination … the judge conceded that the proceedings had been “complex” and told the court: “Let me think about it overnight.”
Ed: Does it rally have to be that complicated?
3 February 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water ‘putting gun to head’ of court over £3bn debt, investors claim.
Water company argues that its favoured offer [from Class A debt holders] should be approved or it will face temporary nationalisation. Thames wrote that [there were “… myriad issues with that [Class B] plan”.
Ed: Debt holders squabble while the public pay.
3 February 2025 – The i Paper: England has some of the filthiest rivers in Europe – and these maps prove it.
When the UK joined the EU in the 70s it was known as the ‘dirty man of Europe’. The i Paper looks at the data to see if anything has changed. England has one of the lowest percentage of waterways achieving at least a ‘Good’ ecological standard in Europe. Following Brexit, the UK adopted [the Water Framework Directive] in national law, but there are now signs the UK is starting to diverge.
Ed: UK is slowly losing the protection of EU legislation.
1 February 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): High Court – it’s happening.
This Monday morning 3rd February at 10am, WASP and our constituency MP, Charlie Maynard will be in the High Court to raise the public interest and customer case, with legal representation, for the opening of a week-long sanctions hearing relating to Thames Water.
Ed: WASP won the right to present the case of ‘public interest’. Look out for our update.
Archive – January 2025
29 January 2025 – The Guardian: Water industry promises £22bn of environmental investment, funded by rising bills.
The Environment Agency has secured a commitment to carry out 24,000 actions over the next five years. But critics have said the EA as a regulator has repeatedly failed to make sure water companies uphold the current legal standards. For years the water industry has carried out the routine discharge of raw sewage via storm overflows in breach of the legal permits issued by the EA.
Ed: Why should we believe that the water companies will do this work or that EA will make sure they do?
28 January 2025 – The Guardian: Water firm river pollution fines must be spent on rivers, MPs to say.
Lib Dem Tim Farron seeks law to protect fund as Treasury tries to take control of £11m. The Treasury is trying to take control of £11m in fines from water companies, which was intended for small charities to restore rivers, in a move criticised by river restoration campaigners as “appalling”.
Ed: The Treasury should not steal water fines.
27 January 2025 – The i Paper: Labour’s new water laws ‘won’t stop sewage dumping in national parks’.
New laws being introduced by Labour to crack down on water company pollution won’t protect National Parks from toxic sewage spills, campaigners have warned.
Ed: Regulations for National Parks should be even tougher not more lax.
27 January 2025 – The Guardian: Water companies in England ‘use greenwashing playbook to hide environmental harm’.
Researchers say companies have prolonged injustice and exaggerated cost of solving infrastructure problems. Water companies in England ‘use greenwashing playbook to hide environmental harm’.
Ed: So they spend our money on greenwashing rather than much needed infrastructure.
26 January 2025 – The i Paper: The people facing the water giants in court over refusing to pay their bills.
Campaign groups have said that thousands are withholding payment from all 11 water companies in England and Wales due to sewage spills. Caz Dennett, 53, from Weymouth, Dorset, will be appearing at Weymouth County Court on 10 February over her refusal to pay her water bills since April 2023.
Ed: Why should we pay for a service (sewage treatment) which is not being delivered?
25 January 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water rescuers seek clean break before committing fresh funds.
Some bidders demand temporary renationalisation to help cut debts and oust bosses.
Ed: Temporary nationalisation (Special Administration Regime – SAR) looms nearer!
24 January 2025 – the Guardian: Thames Water credit rating slashed as administrators approached.
Moody’s changes outlook on firm from stable to negative as financial plans ‘do not provide attractive risk-return balance’. Thames Water’s debt has been downgraded as the struggling utility company seeks to secure £3bn in emergency funding to stave off collapse, after it emerged that the government has approached potential administrators.
Ed: Thames Water is not a viable investment.
24 January 2025 – The i Paper: Nene and Calder among rivers at risk as Treasury seeks to keep cash for sewage clean-ups.
Campaigners say the Government will inflict “one more blow” on rivers blighted by sewage if money from the £11m Water Restoration Fund is diverted for non-environmental spending by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Ed: Yet another project in danger from The Treasury.
23 January 2025 – The Sun: We live on ‘nightmare’ new-build estate so flooded with sewage it has no working toilet… yet WE have to fork out £50k.
Families fear rising costs as faulty sewage system disrupts daily life. Residents say ever since the properties were sold, responsibility for the maintenance of the waste station has fallen to them – instead of to Southern Water, the utility company they pay in their fees for waste removal.
Ed: This is an abrogation of responsibility by the developer and Southern Water.
22 January 2025 – The Guardian: ‘Appalling’: charities warn of UK government betrayal over river clean up fund.
Richard Benwell, the chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of environmental groups, said the government must respect the polluter pays principle and guarantee that future fines from river polluters would be ringfenced and paid directly to environmental restoration projects.
Ed: Charities have invested in their bids and must be allowed to use the funds.
21 January 2025 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): WASP and the High Court.
[High Court allows WASP to make a case against the £3bn to Thames Water].
Ed: This acknowledges the public as an interested party in the loan.
19 January 2025 – The Guardian: Treasury seeks to keep water firm funds earmarked for sewage cleanups.
The move would be hugely disappointing to small projects that have bid for the money to clean up sewage-ridden waterways.
Ed: A penny pinching attempt to divert funds from their rightful use.
18 January 2025 – The Guardian: Clean water campaigners claim victory in Windermere sewage case.
United Utilities has dropped legal fight to block access to data on the discharge of treated sewage in Lake District.
Ed: The public should have access to such data.
15 January 2025 – The Guardian: Thames Water says it will raise base pay of bosses if Ofwat limits bonuses.
Troubled Thames Water has threatened to increase the salaries of its executives if the industry regulator sees through on plans to limit bonuses for the bosses of water companies.
Ed: Ofwat needs to ban salary increases too!
9 January 2025 – The Guardian: Labour’s agriculture plans will increase chicken waste in rivers, say campaigners.
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, promised farmers on Thursday they would be able to build larger chicken sheds, but experts have said this would create “megafarms” and contribute to river pollution.
Ed: This is totally irresponsible. Chicken farms are death to rivers.
14 January 2025 – The Guardian: Ministers to appeal against river pollution ruling won by Yorkshire anglers.
High court had ruled government was not meeting legal duty to clean up Costa Beck near Pickering. The UK environment secretary, Steve Reed, … will argue on Tuesday in the court of appeal that cleaning up individual rivers and streams devastated by pollution is administratively unworkable.
Ed: How can cleaning up individual rivers be “administratively unworkable”?
13 January 2025 – The i Paper: Water firm allowed to pour sewage in Windermere using permit from 1989.
Treatment works that release sewage into a stream connected to Lake Windermere is ‘decrepit, primitive and inadequately maintained’, say campaigners. A water company [United Utilities] is releasing sewage into a stream connected to Lake Windermere using a permit that has not been updated in more than 30 years.
Ed: The Environment Agency must revoke these outdated permits.
11 January 2025 – The i Paper: Woman taken to court after refusing to pay Wessex Water bills over sewage spills.
Caz Dennett has refused to pay her wastewater bills since April 2023. She has now received a letter ordering her to appear at Weymouth County Court on 10 February over her non-payment – but intends to challenge Wessex Water’s claim.
Ed: What happened to the Consumer Protection Act which says “… services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill”?
9 January 2025 – The Guardian: Labour’s agriculture plans will increase chicken waste in rivers, say campaigners.
Steve Reed says planning rules ‘have got in the way’ of farmers and apologises for ‘shock’ of inheritance tax change. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, promised farmers on Thursday they would be able to build larger chicken sheds, but experts have said this would create “megafarms” and contribute to river pollution.
Ed: What shameful politicking. Chicken farms are killing many of our rivers.
9 January 2025 – The i Paper: Not a single penny from sewage fines goes to clean up rivers.
Charities fear Labour is planning to pull funding that they say it vital to restoring England’s rivers. Plans to clean up rivers across England have been put on hold due to delays in funding from millions of pounds of sewage fines.
Ed: Why are Labour dragging their feet?
7 January 2025 – BBC News: Blue Flag at risk over sewage concerns – council.
Weymouth’s “jewel-in-the-crown” beach looks set to lose its Blue Flag status due to a decline in water quality. Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland said it was “almost inevitable” the town’s central beach would lose the accolade, blaming a “not-fit-for-purpose sewage system”.
Ed: But bad news for Weymouth.
5 January 2025 – BBC News: Water firm completes sewer replacement project.
Work to replace more than 300m (984ft) of sewer has been completed as part of a multi-million pound project in Devon. South West Water (SWW) said engineers carried out the work on the sewer entering the Maer Lane wastewater treatment site in Exmouth over eight weeks.
Ed: Some good news for change. Now Exmouth Beach should be clean enough to swim in again.
1 January 2025 – Oxford Mail: Will Thames Water clean up its act in Oxfordshire in 2025?
Sewage scandals and bill increases marked a year of woe for Thames Water. Clean rivers campaigner Ash Smith, of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, said Thames Water failed to deliver 112 schemes, priced in the region of £1.2 billion, in the last spending cycle which has just ended.
Ed: TW plan work in 2025 on Witney, Drayton, Uffington, Carterton, Charlbury, Finstock, Hook Norton and Heyford Sewage Works. Will they deliver?
1 January 2025 – BBC News: Man refusing to pay water bill after four years.
Rupert Firkins stood up at a public meeting in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, to ask about the issues affecting Thames Water’s Primrose Court sewage treatment works, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. He claimed it only takes a small amount of rain for the treatment works to reach capacity and discharge into the neighbouring field.
Ed: Just one of the brave army of customers refusing to pay for a service they don’t receive.
Archive – December 2024
30 December 2024 – Big Issue: Yes, there have been victories against sewage pollution – but 2025 is a fight to keep Labour honest.
Dani Jordan of Surfers Against Sewage says: “We stand on the brink of the biggest shake up of the water industry since privatisation in the 90s. Yes, this is a pivotal moment in our decades long campaign to End Sewage Pollution and we intend to grab it with both hands. After all, who doesn’t want to see the back of the water industry fat cats?”
Ed: It’s up to all the lobby groups to make sure Labour deliver.
28 December 2024 – BBC News: Inquiry over pollution incident in River Wye.
An oily film, believed to be caused by engine oil, was spotted on the surface of the river at Rotherwas, Hereford, with one resident taking pictures of the water a few miles further down at Fownhope and Caplor. Angler and fishery manager Rob Fox – who first noticed it at 14:00 GMT on Saturday – described the situation as “alarming”. Welsh Water confirmed a form of oil had made its way into the river, and said it would investigate the cause.
Ed: Can the Environment Agency please investigate sewage pollution incidents with the same urgency.
27 December 2024 – BBC News: New concerns over impact of chicken farms on river.
Councillors in Gloucestershire have raised fears over river pollution after a decision to approve new chicken farms upstream in Shropshire. A meeting of Forest of Dean District councillors on 12 December heard agricultural pollution was turning the rivers Severn and Wye into “open sewers”.
Ed: In 2020 there were 44 million chickens in the Severn and Wye catchments. Now it’s 51 million!
25 December 2024 – Oxford Mail: Oxfordshire protest at court over Thames Water £3bn bailout.
Earlier this week the first of several high court hearings were held at the Royal Courts of Justice which is the first step of the bailout process. Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, We Own It, Henley Mermaids and others protested outside the hearing.
Ed: The protests were in vain – see 17 December post below.
23 December 2024 – The i Paper: Feargal Sharkey: Scandinavians use less water – we must copy them to save rivers.
Average person in the UK uses about 150 litres of water a day while England alone will need an additional 5bn litres daily by 2050 to maintain current levels . Britons must slash their water use in order to save the UK’s rivers from even more pollution, Feargal Sharkey has warned.
Ed: Yes we must reduce our water consumption, but No, Feargal, that will not clean up our rivers and lakes.
23 December 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water diverted ‘cash for clean-ups’ to help pay bonuses.
UK’s biggest water company assessed risks before cutting back on cost of environmental work, investigation shows. This could be seen as a breach of the company’s licence commitments and leave it vulnerable to accusations it had broken the law.
Ed: TW decided that paying bonuses was worth the risk of public protest.
19 December 2024 – Sky News: Water bills to rise: Full list of what they cost now and how much they’re going up by across England and Wales.
The average bill will go up 36% but how much extra billpayers will be charged depends on what part of England or Wales you live in, and which water company supplies you.
Ed: By 2030 we’ll be paying the water companies between £510 and £645 p.a.
19 December 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water to pay £18m penalty after breaking dividend rules.
Regulator says it will claw back £131m in ‘unjustified’ payments as it announces companies can increase bills by 36% by 2030. It is the first time Ofwat has used its new powers to take action against companies that pay dividends regardless of their performance.
Ed: At long last!
17 December 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water wins court approval to secure ‘critical’ £3bn cash lifeline.
Decision came after protesters called on judges to block a financial bailout they say will cost customers £250 a year. “This deal is for £3bn of cash right now that will be charged at a whopping 10% interest … that’s £250 a year from every household,” said Matthew Topham of We Own It.
Ed: Court ignores request for public consultation.
17 December 2024 – The Guardian: Watchdog warns Defra and Ofwat they could face court over sewage dumping.
Environment Agency also served notice after investigation found failures to comply with law. An investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found Ofwat, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA) all failed to stop water companies from discharging sewage into rivers and seas in England when it was not raining heavily.
Ed: Let’s hope the OEP can make this stick.
16 December 2024 – The Guardian: Swimming status of Ilkley’s River Wharfe in limbo over sewage pollution.
Stretch of river in West Yorkshire was first to get bathing status in 2020 but has since recorded poor water quality … water quality has persistently been recorded as poor, most recently in the latest classifications last month. If it remains poor next year, when the status is up for renewal, it could lose its bathing water designation.
Ed: If we cannot clean up this iconic bathing site then what hope for all the others.
16 December 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): It’s all about the money.
On Tuesday 17th December WASP will deliver a hard copy of a letter to the High Court that we sent by email last Thursday 12 December. We will be accompanied by our MP Charlie Maynard of the Witney Constituency – scene of many a Thames Water pollution event. There will also be a protest outside, led by fellow campaigners, the excellent, We Own It – so feel free to come and join us all.
Ed: The High Court must consult the public.
15 December 2024 – West England Bylines: Thames Water leadership failures.
A reader writes in response to our recent article on Thames Water failures. I’m proud to have worked for Thames Water for 30 years, from 1972 to 2022. When I left, it was a great company and arguably the strongest water utility in the world in terms of asset value and expertise. I thought I should do some background research on the senior leadership team. Not one of them had any operational, financial, or technical experience of the water industry.
Ed: In other words they haven’t a clue how to run a water company.
9 December 2024 – West England Bylines: The stench of privatisation in our water companies.
Sewage spills in Gloucestershire’s rivers, and huge dividends paid while Thames Water are in debt, make reform of the water industry urgent. Just last year alone there were 2000 hours of untreated chemicals and human waste pouring into the river at Andoversford in the North Cotswolds.
Ed: Pollution in the heart of the Cotswolds.
15 December 2024 – The i Paper: ‘Thames Water sent me a £10k bill for a leaking pipe – I don’t know where it is’.
A single mother of three was left in “sheer panic” after Thames Water told her she faced a £10,700 bill next year without any explanation. A Thames Water spokesperson said that the company is “very sorry” for “any distress caused when receiving a high-water bill.”
Ed: Sheer incompetence.
15 December 2024 – The Guardian: Water companies urged to step up help on bills for vulnerable customers.
Regulator poised to reveal steep price rises as campaigners in England and Wales fear water will become unaffordable. Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice, said companies should work with the government to ensure that vulnerable people receive more help.
Ed: A good opportunity for Labour to support vulnerable households.
6 December 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): The Stealth bailout.
As big bill hikes loom to fix the problems caused by water companies whose failures are now being used to blackmail even more money out of billpayers, we take a look at what is going on behind the scenes. Shockingly, our new government appears to be fearful of upsetting the big financial interests at the heart of the water industry scandal.
Ed: Great work by WASP – investment has gone to dividends not investment.
15 October 2024 – Clive Lewis MP: Launching my Private Members’ Bill: Overhauling the failing water system.
The bill will:
Require the Commission to set up a Citizens’ Assembly on water ownership
Set new targets and objectives relating to water, including in relation to the ownership of water companies and to climate mitigation and adaptation
Place requirements on the Secretary of State to publish and implement a strategy for achieving those targets and objectives
Establish a Commission on Water to advise the Secretary of State on that strategy.
Ed: Yes I know this was October but the 2nd reading isn’t until 28 March 2025.
15 December 2024 – The Observer: Public anger over water bill rises is justified, says UK environment secretary.
‘Complete reset’ of water industry needed in face of poor service, pollution and leaks, says Steve Reed. He has commissioned the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, to look at a “complete reset of the water sector”, though the plans will not be enacted until after the next election.
Ed: After the next election is far too late!
6 December 2024 – The Guardian: Struggling Thames Water receives £5bn buyout offer from Covalis.
Deal would result in France’s Suez Group being brought in to manage restructure of water company. Covalis plans to provide about £1bn of the funds upfront and raise a further £4bn from sales of the struggling water company’s assets. The asset sales could reportedly include breaking up parts of the company, such as its operations in the Thames Valley, and then pursuing a stock market flotation of the restructured business.
Ed: Asset stripping is not what is needed. There’s been enough of that already!
10 December 2024 – BBC News: Thames Water boss defends exec bonuses as sewage spills soar.
Chris Weston said the supplier needed to offer “competitive packages” to attract talent, but the water regulator has previously said that customers must not foot the bill for “undeserved bonuses”.
Ed: The “talent” they’ve attracted so far has failed us on all accounts.
9 December 2024 – BBC Panorama: The Water Company’s Murky Business.
Reporter Joe Crowley investigates how Severn Trent hits environmental targets while dumping large quantities of sewage and asks whether there is more to the company’s finances than meets the eye.
Ed: An excellent exposé of sewage dumping and financial engineering (with our writer Stanley Root).
8 December 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): The Stealth bailout.
As big bill hikes loom to fix the problems caused by water companies whose failures are now being used to blackmail even more money out of billpayers, we take a look at what is going on behind the scenes. Shockingly, our new government appears to be fearful of upsetting the big financial interests at the heart of the water industry scandal.
Ed: The privatisation model just isn’t working.
7 December 2024 – The Guardian: ‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down.
EU countries will share laboratory capacity but UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad. The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify the chemicals have shut down.
Ed: Who authorised the UK labs to be shut down?
6 December 2024 – DEFRA: Anglian Water fined £300,000 for sewage pollution in Norfolk.
The pollution happened on 5 November 2018, when an Anglian Water pumping station in Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk, discharged untreated sewage into Spring Dyke. The Dyke feeds into Ormesby Broad which is a public water supply and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Ed: Six years to bring a prosecution is too long.
4 December 2024 – BBC – The One Show: We heard from Thames Water customers who were experiencing sewage and flooding on their properties.
Thames water says that it recognises how stressful sewer flooding is for customers and for that it is sorry. However, it goes onto say that this is a complex case and will take time to resolve but that it would like to reassure Mr Ford, that it will continue to work with him and stakeholders to help provide a resolution.”
In regard to Mr and Mrs Collen it said it was very sorry that they have experienced flooding in their garden following periods of heavy rainfall. Unfortunately, the property is located in an area deemed high risk for surface water flooding …
Ed: Thames Water have not taken ownership of these issues.
3 December 2024 – Brighton Argus: TikToker Troy Hawke confronts Southern Water bosses.
Troy Hawke, a TikToker known for his gentleman’s attire and street compliments, stood outside The Grand hotel on Brighton seafront speaking to those arriving for the annual British Water Conference on Tuesday, November 26.
Ed: Watch his YouTube here.
4 December 2024 – BBC News: Sewage pipelines planned for unprotected rivers.
Water companies are planning to build a pipeline network to move treated sewage away from conservation areas and into rivers, lakes and seas which do not have the same legal protection. People who live and work along the proposed routes say they are devastated, with one farmer, George Rowe, stating: “It will be as bad as HS2 for the countryside.”
4 December 2024 – Witney Gazette: Sewage dumped at 50 Oxfordshire locations during Storm Bert.
Some of the discharges, tracked on the water company’s Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) storm discharge map, went on for days amounting to hundreds of hours of non-stop discharge. Witney Sewage Treatment Works began discharging at 2am on Sunday (November 24) and continued for over five full days. WASP Chair Ash Smith believes he became ill after going out sampling river water.
3 December 2024 – The Guardian: Water firms push for higher shareholder returns as Ofwat considers bills increase.
Companies say higher returns are needed to ensure record infrastructure investment across industry is delivered. Stuart Colville, the deputy chief executive of the industry body Water UK, said on average shareholders in the privatised water industry received 2.1% returns last year, adding that they could get better returns in a high street bank.
2 December 2024 – The Times: Water utilities’ debt crisis fuelled by Moody’s views, says Ofwat.
Industry regulator boss criticises the credit rating agency over its seemingly optimistic analyses of companies such as Thames Water.
November 2024
30 November 2024 – iNews: Thames super-sewer adds £160 to water bills while CEO takes home extra £1.7m.
So far, bill-payers have been charged at least £136 for the project, with an additional £26 set to be added before its final completion next year, pushing the total amount up to £162. At the same time, Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell’s pay nearly tripled between 2021/22 and 2022/23, rising from £928,000 to £2,727,000 – more than £1.7m extra.
21 November 2024 – East Anglia Bylines: Government grasps (part of) the water problem.
Parliament is at work to address public anger about the water industry, but with surprisingly little media attention. The government has launched a major Water Commission to review of the water industry as a whole, but they have introduced a new Bill to deal with some of the most urgent issues.
20 November 2024 – BBC News: Three water firms blocked from using customer money for bonuses.
David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said that water firms “need to do more to rebuild public trust”.He said that by stopping customers from “paying for undeserved bonuses”, it was looking “to sharpen executive mindsets” and to push firms to improve their cultures of performance and accountability. Ofwat said any bonuses paid out of customer funds would be deducted from future customer bills.
19 November 2024 – The Guardian: UK’s intensive farming hotspots have 79 times more chickens than people, data shows.
Despite large poultry units being a key driver of river pollution, their number has soared near the Wye and Severn. The exponential rise in large intensive poultry units (IPUs) in the valleys is a key driver of river pollution. Chicken dropping contains more phosphates – which starve fish and river plants of oxygen – than any other animal manure.
18 November 2024 – BBC News: Raw sewage from new homes being flushed into river.
Thames Water’s response to an Environmental Information Request (EIR) from Friends of the River Crane Environment (Force) showed seven blocks of flats in north, north-west and west London had been discharging waste into the rivers Crane and Brent.
See also Barnet Post: Barnet Council concerned as new developments flush raw sewage into river.
17 November 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water supply ‘on knife-edge’ with £23bn repairs needed.
Company has failed to tackle serious safety concerns or upgrade vital IT systems, Guardian investigation reveals. “Operations have been hollowed out and cut to the bone,” a senior source at Thames said. “We’re putting the public at risk by failing to invest in the most basic needs.”
16 November 2024 – Mid Devon Advertiser: Case adjourned as water company admit to sewage offences.
SOUTH West Water (SWW) has been before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court where the company pleaded guilty to five offences related to illegal water discharge activities and a breach of an environmental permit.
16 November 2024 – The Observer: United Utilities refuses to hand over data on sewage discharges into Windermere.
Water company claims information is not in the public interest despite widespread pollution of UK waters. ‘It’s a national disgrace’: fury at sewage-filled Windermere over toxic algae and dead fish.
14 November 2024 – The Guardian: Southern Water’s debt downgraded to junk status by Moody’s.
Company close to technical default on some of its debt, underlining UK industry’s precarious state. Southern is controlled by Macquarie, the Australian investment bank that played a key role in Thames Water over years when it accumulated billions of pounds of debt.
13 November 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water gains key support from creditors for £3bn funding lifeline.
Utilities firm says 75% of class A bondholders back emergency package aimed at staving off collapse. Thames faces the prospect of a temporary nationalisation if it ultimately collapses, and the emergency funding would help the company avoid a short-term cash crunch.
12 November 2024 – iNews: Wild swimming spots could get year-round sewage testing.
Some of England and Wales’s most popular wild swimming spots could be tested for dangerous bacteria all-year-round under new Government plans to reform the rules around bathing waters. The move comes in response to the growing popularity of cold water swimming and other water sports.
11 November 2024 – iNews: Water bill increase needed to fix sewage crisis, says minister.
‘We’ve got to be honest about the inheritance that we’ve got,’ Emma Hardy told i, adding that bills must rise over the next five years. However, Ofwat’s decision still sparked a backlash from politicians and campaigners who argued customers should not be forced to pay to clean up Britain’s polluted waterways.
6 November 2024 – The Guardian: UK ‘falling behind’ on sewage pollution regulation while EU tightens rules.
EU member states agreed on Tuesday to update the urban waste water treatment directive to strengthen rules to clean up sewage and chemical pollution from treatment plants. Meanwhile, the UK still has the old 1991 UWWT directive legislation, which was brought into EU law when the UK was still a member.
5 November 2024 – Bristol 24/7: Bristol ‘fourth worst UK city for sewage spills’.
Councillors will call for action on cleaning up the Avon and Frome rivers as they say Bristol is the “fourth worst UK city” for sewage spills. A debate during a full council meeting on November 12 will explore how the water quality in the city’s rivers could be improved.
3 November 2024 – Bucks Free Press: What will the River Thames look like if sewage dumping continues?
A consultancy company has used to AI to show what the River Thames will look like if sewage dumping continues – and it’s not a pretty sight.
3 November 2024 – Plant Based News: Water Companies In England Manipulated Sewage Tests, Report Finds.
The Environment Agency is closing a loophole that allows for misleading reporting by water companies. Water companies have claimed to have passed pollution tests despite never having carried out the tests at all, reports the Observer.
3 November 2024 – The Guardian: Thousands of blue-clad protesters join London march for clean water.
More than 130 organisations take part in protest demanding government action over country’s sewage crisis. Thousands of blue-clad protesters have told the government to “stop poisoning Britain’s water” as they marched through London calling for action on the country’s contaminated coastal waters and rivers.
2 November 2024 – The Mirror: Thames Water boss fishing in South America paradise as firm dumps human sewage into UK waters.
Chris Weston, the boss of Thames Water on a £2.3million salary, was seen enjoying a fishing holiday in Argentina while his company battles to find funding to avoid bankruptcy. The fatcat boss of a shamed water firm that has pumped 72 billion litres of human sewage into the Thames since 2020 flew to Argentina to fish in a pristine river.
October 2024
28 October 2024 – BBC News Sussex: Water company ‘sorry’ after sewage spills into road,
Southern Water says a sewage spill which saw excrement released into a West Sussex street was caused by a mechanical fault. The water company apologised after sewage flowed into Albion Street, Southwick, from its nearby pumping station on Saturday.
27 October 2024 – The Guardian: ‘It is about people’s love of the river’: swimming group fighting for rights in the Avon.
Conham Bathing, an advocacy group made up of women in their 20s and 30s, has launched the Thriving Avon Charter in a move to raise the profile of rights for rivers. The move is inspired by campaigners worldwide who have secured legal personhood or “rights of nature” for rivers such as the Whanganui in New Zealand, and in the UK with the Ouse in Lewes and the Dart in Dartmoor.
21 October 2024 – The Guardian: UK rivers contain ‘cocktail of chemicals and stimulants’ endangering aquatic life.
Results from three days of testing in rivers by 4,531 volunteers for the environmental research group Earthwatch showed that, in addition to the chemical mix in rivers, 61% of fresh waters in the UK were in a poor state because of high levels of the nutrients phosphate and nitrate, the source of which is sewage effluent and agricultural runoff. England had the worst level of poor water quality in rivers, with 67% of freshwater samples showing high levels of nitrate and phosphate.
25 October 2024 – BBC News: Thames Water secures £3bn loan to survive into 2025.
Thames Water has been thrown a cash lifeline that will tide the troubled utility giant over until October next year. The water industry as a whole is under pressure to improve. Customers’ bills have been rising – and will continue to do so – but sewage spills into England’s lakes, rivers and seas, for example, doubled last year.
25 October 2024 – iNews: The key to fixing the rivers crisis, that goes far beyond sewage.
Campaigners have told i they are worried that the independent review into the water sector is sidelining the biggest source of UK river pollution – slurry from cattle and other agricultural waste. Rivers campaigner Mr Sharkey is also extremely concerned that agriculture hasn’t been explicitly mentioned in the announcement – which mentions water companies throughout. As a result, he told i he fears that “the review will be mis-shapen and will fail”.
22 October 2024 – The Guardian: New Water Commission must create an environmental enforcer that is feared.
… water companies belong on the stock market. Only three of the 10 that were privatised still have a listing, and nobody pretends they are all models of virtue (United Utilities’ woes at Windermere being the latest example). But, in the round, environmental performance has been better at quoted companies – boardroom accountability is easier to enforce, financial reporting is more transparent and borrowing is lower.
22 October 2024 – The Guardian: New commission may ban English water companies from making a profit.
The idea is one of the options being considered by a new commission set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) amid public fury over the way firms have prioritised profit over the environment. Sources at the department said they would consider forcing the sale of water companies in England to firms that would run them as not-for-profits. Unlike under nationalisation, the company would not be run by the government but by a private company, run for public benefit.
22 October 2024 – Sky News: Water companies seek even higher bill increases than first indicated.
The biggest water company in the UK, Thames Water, is now looking for bills to rise 53% and cost £667 a year by 2029/30, according to figures published by water regulator Ofwat. The biggest rise – 84% – is sought by Southern Water. Of all 11 English and Welsh water and wastewater firms only one utility, Wessex Water, is not seeking even higher bills than they first requested from the regulator in July.
20 October 2024 – The Guardian: Water companies raise bonuses to £9.1m despite record sewage discharges.
The payouts pile further pressure on the regulator, Ofwat, to intervene in the decisions of water company boards. Last year, raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.
20 October 2024 – iNews: Dangerous sewage is being spread on farms and could end up back in our bodies.
Using treated human waste as fertiliser in the agricultural industry has been going on for years, but now a growing body of scientific evidence shows this sludge is full of dangerous contaminants. Concerns are growing that it is polluting crops which are then consumed by humans.
18 October 2024 – BBC News: Sewage pumped into river for more than three weeks.
A storm overflow for the treatment works at Fairford has been discharging into the River Coln continuously for more than 560 hours since 23 September. Cotswolds Rivers Trust is concerned because the second storm overflow in Fairford has not been working for approximately four weeks. A Thames Water spokesperson said it plans to upgrade 250 of their sites across the region, including the sewage treatment works in Fairford.
Ed: We Fairford residents have campaigned for years for Thames Water to upgrade the sewage works.
17 October 2024 – University of Oxford: Novel computational method could prove a game-changer in tracking down river polluters.
A new computational method developed by researchers at Oxford University and Imperial College London uses an innovative new technique to track down the sources of river pollutants. In a case study, the model identified the source of a harmful neonicotinoid pesticide – banned for agricultural use- in a rare chalk stream habitat.
17 October 2024: @MattStaniek on X – Save Windermere: Over 140 million litres of sewage illegally dumped into Windermere.
Once again, we find ourselves involved in uncovering United Utilities (UU) illegal dumping of sewage into Windermere—this time, it’s truly shocking. Through our investigations using Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), we have helped expose that Glebe Road Pumping Station (GRPS) ILLEGALLY dumped a reported 143,000,000 litres of untreated sewage into England’s largest lake over just three years.
17 October 2024 – @SOSWhitstable on X: It’s going to be a long winter, isn’t it?
@SouthernWater have been churning out sewage across the southeast again. Here are the four longest ongoing releases: Hythe – 15+ hours Whitstable – 16+ hours Bexhill – 18+ hours Sandown – 80+ hours Yes, 80 hours on the IOW.
10 October 2024 – @MarchforWater on X: March for Clean Water 3 November.
We’re excited to announce that our march route has been approved! The details are as follows:
Location: Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7HF.
Muster: From 11am.
March: From 11:45am.
See you there & remember to #WearBlue!
17 October 2024 – BBC News: Sewage dumped illegally in Windermere over 3 years.
More than 140 million litres of waste were pumped into Windermere between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not permitted, our analysis shows, and United Utilities failed to report most of it. It means the company’s illegal dumping of sewage into the lake went on for far longer, and was far more extensive, than was previously known.
13 October – The Observer: ‘Ankle deep in sewage’: English spring water village suffers suspected unlawful spills.
Water firm Severn Trent accused of being in breach of environmental permits over pollution near Malvern Hills. Colwall, a village of less than 3,000 people on the border between Herefordshire and Worcestershire, is renowned for its spring water, which comes from the nearby Malvern Hills. But the water at Colwall is now in the spotlight for very different reasons. The most recent data from Severn Trent Water, the company that covers the area, reveals that a sewage treatment works on Cradley Brook, near the village, spilled sewage for 1,756 hours in 2021 and 1,361 hours in 2022.
11 October 2024 – The Guardian: Surrey swimming lake could close amid plan to allow in polluted Thames water.
50,000 people sign petition against creation of channel for river water through Ferris Meadow Lake. A freshwater lake that attracts more than 30,000 swimmers a year is under threat of closure from an Environment Agency (EA) plan to reduce flooding that will channel in polluted river water, according to campaigners.
11 October 2024 – iNews: I won Olympic gold in Paris – now I’m trying to save Britain’s rivers.
Imogen Grant speaks to i after winning gold, becoming an NHS doctor weeks later and campaigning to clean up Britain’s rivers. Only 14.55 per cent of river water bodies in England are in good ecological health, according to The River Trust. “It is a sorry state of affairs,” Grant says.
10 October – BBC News: Farmers say they face polluting or breaking law.
A wet start to autumn has meant some of Wales’ livestock farms have struggled to empty their slurry stores ahead of a ban on spreading manure. New rules forbid slurry spreading across Wales from mid-October to January in a bid to protect water quality – but current wet weather means some farmers said spreading manure could see it seep into waterways.
8 October 2024 – Cornwall Live: 34 Cornish beaches hit with sewage pollution warnings.
More than 30 beaches and popular swimming spots in Cornwall have been hit with pollution warnings today, Tuesday, October 8. The warnings come after Cornwall saw torrential rain yesterday afternoon and evening.
8 October – Sussex World: Eastbourne raises sewage pollution concerns: “It’s still a protest. We are still angry”.
Plastic Free Eastbourne (PFE), MP Josh Babarinde, Eastbourne councillors, the Sea Swimmers group and other supporters of the cause gathered at 9:30 am on Sunday, 6th October, to ‘take a dip’ to raise awareness of sewage and plastic pollution and raise funds for Surfers Against Sewage.
8 October 2024 – iNews: Force water firms to divert shareholder profits to stop sewage, Lords tell Labour.
Peers are seeking changes to the Government’s flagship water bill that would mark a major win for i’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign. A cross-party group of peers plans to propose a series of amendments to the legislation, including the introduction of new duties for the regulator Ofwat to place a greater emphasis on the environment when making decisions over water company business plans.
7 October – Leigh Day: Windrush Against Sewage Pollution challenges Oxford housing developments over sewage concerns.
Campaign groups Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), Evenlode Catchment Partnership, and Upper Thames Fisheries are challenging Oxford City Council and South Oxfordshire District Council over two proposed housing developments which they say could be too much for the city’s sewerage system. Problems with the sewerage system in Oxford, which is run by Thames Water, have already been acknowledged by the Environment Agency (EA).
7 October 2024 – The Guardian: Salmon numbers in England and Wales last year were lowest on record.
Total declared salmon catch estimated at 5,399 fish, down from 6,952 in 2022 – and 20,000 in years up to 2017. Stuart Singleton-White, head of campaigns at the Angling Trust, said: “The government must make the future of wild Atlantic salmon a conservation priority. Salmon will be a key test for this government if it is to meet its legally binding targets to halt the decline and then increase the abundance of biodiversity.”
7 October 2024 – BIG ISSUE: Sewage pollution levels in this river are 100 times safe ‘limits’. The fight is now on to clean it up.
Sewage pollution in the Ouseburn – which runs from near the [Newcastle] city’s airport to the Tyne – is a staggering 100 times higher than safe standards. On Wednesday (2 October), James Cole, a Liberal Democrat city councillor in Newcastle, tabled a petition calling on the council to work with the company to “take immediate action” to end sewage overflow pollution.
September 2024
30 September 2024 – iNews: How the Netherlands transformed its rivers – and what the UK could learn.
Severe floods and pollution forced the Dutch government to rethink how its rivers are managed. It’s an approach that has garnered increasing interest in the UK as we face a crisis in our own rivers. In addition to the growing threat of floods, Britain’s waterways are suffering from devastating pollution – primarily from sewage works and agriculture – and a huge decline in biodiversity.
29 September 2024 – The Guardian: Labour used water industry analysis to argue against nationalisation.
‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies. The letter, sent by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to the Rivers Trust, Surfers Against Sewage, River Action UK and Greenpeace states: “The Social Market Foundation calculated the likely cost of renationalisation to be £90bn … Moody’s rating agency has disputed this figure and estimated that nationalisation could actually cost £14.5bn.
25 September 2024 – River Action UK: the March for Clean Water will now be taking place on Sunday 3rd November.
“Thousands of people and more than 90 charities, organisations and community groups have pledged their support to the family-friendly March for Clean Water. It promises to be a positive, loud and colourful demonstration of the public’s outrage at the dire state of the UK’s polluted rivers, seas and lakes. Join us on the streets of London on Sunday 3rd November to send a clear message to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that the people of Great Britain will no longer tolerate the manner in which the making of dirty money has been allowed by the government to be prioritised at the expense of clean water.”
23 September 2024 – The Guardian: Six water firms in England ‘overcharged customers by up to £1.5bn’.
Firms underreported true scale of sewage pollution for 10 years, which allowed them to set higher bills, tribunal told. Prof Carolyn Roberts, a water resource specialist, is taking the action in the competition appeals tribunal and seeking to represent millions of consumers who she believes have been overcharged by hundreds of millions of pounds.
16 September 2024 – The Guardian: Is pollution in England’s rivers really getting worse? There’s more good news than you might think.
River wildlife is on the up and there’s little evidence that storm overflows are being used more often. But protest is still vital. However, as a freshwater ecologist, I know there is more nuance to the story than you may have been led to believe. From my perspective, there is some good news when it comes to our rivers. I would even say that some rivers in England are in the best state they have been in for hundreds of years.
Ed: BEWARE! This is a somewhat biased view of an expert who has previously been sponsored by a water company.
14 September 2024 – The Guardian: Billpayers in England and Wales tricked into ‘stealth bailout’ of water companies.
Campaign group challenges industry regulator over price rises for customers that will pay to upgrade infrastructure. Campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (Wasp), which exposed suspected illegal discharges of sewage across England and Wales, has challenged Ofwat, the industry regulator, over the proposed price rises. The final determinations are due to be announced in December.
7 September 2024 – The Guardian: ‘Citizen scientists’ to check UK rivers for sewage and pollution.
Big River Watch scheme asks general public to help monitor state of rivers after years of deregulation. When the UK was in the EU, it was subject to the water framework directive, which meant it had to carry out detailed pollution analysis of waterways and report every year. There has not been a survey done under the WFD since 2019, and the Conservative government began the process of removing the EU standards from UK legislation. The Labour government has not indicated whether it intends to continue this deregulation. ’Citizen scientists’ have therefore been intensifying efforts to check rivers for pollution to try to find the true scale of the problem.
Ed: We took a break over the summer holidays but we’re back again now, so please send us your stories of the pollution of our waterways.
August 2024
6 August 2024 – BBC News: ‘More severe consequences’ needed for water firms.
Industry regulator Ofwat announced on Tuesday it was fining three water firms – Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water – a combined total of £168m. Tristan Wilkinson, councillor for Fairford, Lechlade and Kempsford, does not believe the fine will make a difference, as he wants to see “potential prison sentences”.
6 August 2024 – BBC News: Water firms to be punished for years of sewage leaks.
Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water face £168m fines by the industry regulator over historic sewage spills. The proposal will now go to public consultation and is part of Ofwat’s largest ever investigation into water company performance.
8 August 2024 6pm – The Engineering Club: We Need to Talk about Sewage.
Given the crisis in the state of our rivers it is perhaps no surprise that sewage and pollution in our waterways became a political issue in the recent election. There are many causes of this: climate change and and weather extremes which are beyond the planned capacity of our wastewater systems. An ageing infrastructure conceived in a different age with different attitudes to waste. An economic framework which has led to under-investment in the technology required. A weak and underfunded regulatory authority.
4 August 2024 – The Observer: ‘It’s just raw profiteering’: the people refusing to pay their water bills in response to the sewage crisis.
“We are paying for a service that we are just not getting; a service we absolutely have to have,” says Caz Dennett, founder of the Don’t Pay for Dirty Water campaign.
1 August 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Who should be better informed about the widespread criminality propping up the profits of water companies than the Environment Agency?
The Agency has a Pensions Committee made up of various trained staff and its accounts were signed off in 2023 by the CEO of the Agency. It is a big fund with many investments across the world and big claims about responsible investment. Remarkably, among many others, it invests in the privatised English water industry – the one it has failed to regulate and the one that is making money out of criminal pollution by short-changing on investment going into the company and maxing money going out to shareholders.
1 August 2024 – The Guardian: Sea swimming was my saviour. But the dumping of sewage changed everything.
Earlier this year, I took action: I decided to sue South West Water, for its insistence on repeatedly dumping in my local stretch of water. I did it for myself and for others. Why should these companies be allowed to pollute our waters with impunity, turning them from the beautiful, natural, life-giving blue spaces they are, to a dumping ground for sewage? Who gave them permission to do this? Why are they getting away with it?
July 2024
30 July 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): WASP’s Tribute to Philip Barnett.
Philip was the founder and driving force behind Clanfield Residents Against Pollution’s fight with Thames Water to stop it treating the edge of the village as a dumping ground for untreated sewage and to force it to do what the village pays it to do – the job properly.
29 July 2024 – iNews: ‘Thames Water said our river was safe – I swam and got sick to show it wasn’t’.
River Action UK chief executive James Wallace developed a bladder and urinary tract infection after swimming near Fawley Meadows. A campaigner claims he developed an “agonising” bladder and urinary tract infection after bathing in a stretch of the River Thames which Thames Water insisted was safe to swim in.
28 July 2024 – ITV News: Water bosses ‘will face criminal charges’ over sewage dumping.
Water bosses will face criminal charges and be stripped of their bonuses over illegal sewage dumping, Environment Secretary Steve Reed has said. “Water bosses responsible for repeated illegal sewage dumping will face criminal charges, and I’ll ban the payment of their multimillion-pound bonuses until they clean up their toxic filth,” the cabinet minister said.
24 July 2024 – ITV News: Campaigners gather outside South West Water headquarters to demonstrate against sewage pollution.
Dozens of protesters have gathered outside the headquarters of South West Water to demonstrate against its record on sewage pollution. It comes as the water company was ranked among the worst performing water companies in the UK with the Environment Agency’s assessment read “requires improvement”. South West Water discharged sewage into rivers and seas more than 58 thousand times last year.
24 July 2024 – Leigh Day: River Wye pollution claim.
Residents of the Wye catchment are bringing a collective legal action against Cargill PLC and Avara Foods Ltd Over allegations they polluted the River Wye.
24 July 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water breaches licence as part of its debt downgraded to junk.
Move by ratings company Moody’s puts Thames in breach its operating licence but Ofwat likely to hold off on large fine.
@Feargal_Sharkey on X: @Ofwat now trapped in a cage of its own making. Putting @thameswater into special administration will be an admission that for 35 years they got it wrong, wrong, wrong.
23 July 2024 – Sky News: Sewage crisis: Four water firms ‘responsible for 90% of serious pollution incidents’.
The Environment Agency says the pace of change at water firms in England continues to fall short of what is needed, with only three achieving the top ranking for performance. It said that fact “polarised performance” across the sector as firms UK-wide face pressure to cut raw sewage discharges through heightened, and long overdue, investment in their infrastructure.
18 July 2024 – Reddit.com: Olympic heroes warn sewage pollution poses ‘existential threat’ to UK water sports.
Former GB gold medalists are raising the alarm over the ‘devastating’ effect pollution is having on British watersports ahead of the Olympics.
17 July 2024 – City A.M.: King’s Speech: Ofwat will get new powers to tackle rogue water firms.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will grant the water regulator new powers to ban top bosses from receiving bonus payments if environmental standards are not met, as well as ensuring executives “face personal criminal liability for lawbreaking”.
17 July 2024 – iNews: New sewage law will let government spy on polluting water firms.
The Environment Agency is to be given new powers to access data on sewage spills, as part of a move to prevent water companies from ‘marking their own homework’ on pollution.
16 July 2024 – The Guardian: Every water firm in England and Wales under investigation over sewage spills.
Ofwat opens cases against Severn Trent and three others, days after they faced criticism over huge bill rises. This means Ofwat is taking enforcement action against all 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales over sewage pollution.
11 July 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water placed in special measures due to ‘significant issues’.
Ofwat said on Thursday that the company, which is creaking under £15.2bn of debt, would be placed in a “turnaround oversight regime” and subjected to “heightened regulatory” measures, meaning it must regularly report on the progress of its investment plan.
11 July 2024 – Angling Trust: Angling Trust urges government to go further and faster to tackle sewage pollution and reform the water industry.
The Angling Trust has issued a strong response to OFWAT’s draft determinations on the water industry business plans for the next five-year spending period (PR24), warning that despite a record increase in investment, sewage spills would continue to occur at unacceptable levels beyond 2030.
11 July 2024 – Gov.UK: Government announces first steps to reform water sector.
This afternoon the Secretary of State will also meet with water company Chief Executives to make clear that under this government water companies will be answerable for their performance for customers and the environment. He will set out his plans to work in partnership with the sector and investors to attract investment, jobs, and clean up the nation’s polluted waterways.
8 July 2024 – Cotswold District Council: Sewage Summit.
The Sewage Summit took place at the Corinium Museum, Cirencester, on Monday 8 July 2024, 9:15am to 3:30pm. This event gave residents an opportunity to hear from the water companies serving the district, local environmental groups and regulatory bodies and have a chance to ask them questions.
2 July 2024 – @Feargal_Sharkey on X: Supreme Court rules WCs can sued for nuisance or trespass for dumping sewage even if “There has been no negligence or deliberate
misconduct”, by the WC.
That opens the way for 1,000s of claims by fishing clubs, swimmers, riparian owners against WCs. WOW just WOW!
The Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd (Appellant) v United Utilities Water Ltd (Respondent) No 2.
Ed: To paraphrase the children’s song: “The Big Shit Sails up the Ally Ally Oh!”
2 July 2024 – @Feargal_Sharkey on X: 82% of public demand a public inquiry into the sewage scandal.
That rises to 92% of @UKLabour voters. @serauk.
2 July 2024 – Sussex Bylines: Is sewage turning the electoral tide in ‘true blue’ Chichester?
Sewage is one of the key issues for disillusioned Conservative voters in this traditional Tory town/ Sewage was one of the key issues — along with general disillusion with the Tories — when the Liberal Democrats won control of the council in May 2023. And for the first time, the Tory incumbent, Education Minister Gillian Keegan, looks vulnerable despite a 21,490 majority in 2019.
1 July 2024 – BBC News: ‘Best kept village’ out of contest due to sewage.
A village has be/ en forced to pull out of the ‘Best Kept Village, external‘ competition because of sewage in the river. Chalfont St Giles Parish Council in Buckinghamshire has decided to close areas near the river, including a children’s playground, a pond and the river walk. The council said “the stench of sewage permeates the village” and it had “no option” but to withdraw from the competition.
June 2024 (26 Views)
28 June 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water board approved £150m payout hours before funding U-turn.
Ofwat to investigate circumstances around payment of dividend to intermediate parent company. The water industry regulator was examining the decision by the debt-laden company’s board to sign off the payout at a meeting on 27 March, sources said. The following day, the company said an imminent £500m injection of funds that had been pledged by its investors would not be paid, amid a standoff with Ofwat. That decision threatens to tip Britain’s water company into public hands, with Whitehall officials war-gaming its temporary renationalisation.
28 June 2024 – FT: Thames Water warns ageing assets pose ‘risk to public safety’.
Supplier to London and southern England says £19bn of assets are failing as Ofwat weighs approving increase in bills. The problems range from crumbling sewage and water pipes to obsolete monitoring technology and a shortage of reservoirs, according to the company’s report.
Prof Jamie Woodward: Thirty five years after privatisation … Privatisation has failed spectacularly!
28 June 2024 – BBC News Buckinghamshire: What is the solution to sewage in our rivers?
Marlene Lawrence, who founded the Teddington Bluetits, thinks whoever forms the next government needs to take more action against the water companies. “People do care about rivers and the environment and they want the next government to take action,” she says. “I think if the regulators had a bit more power that would help. Give them more power to enforce the water companies with proper fines and proper action.”
26 June 2024 – Green Party: Press Release.
Plan for our rivers: Greens say nationalise water companies, invest in sewage infrastructure and give regulator real teeth.
26 June 2024 – BBC News Hampshire & Isle of Wight: Protesters demonstrate against sewage in rivers.
River users have gathered to demonstrate against sewage polluting their local waterway. Protesters, including members of campaign groups Friends of River Itchen and Surfers Against Sewage, met at Portswood in Southampton on Wednesday. They say the River Itchen contains high levels of sewage pollution that could cause a significant public health risk.
25 June 2024 – BBC News Berkshire: Anti-sewage campaigners lead paddle protest.
Campaigners have staged what they described as a “paddle-out protest” against sewage discharges. The joint demonstration by River Action and Surfers Against Sewage saw activists floating on a section of the river outside Thames Water’s headquarters in Reading. The groups are urging voters to use the upcoming election to “vote for clean rivers”.
25 June 2024 – BBC News Cumbria: Sewage ‘nuisance’ complaint made against water firm.
A council has been asked to investigate sewage discharges into Windermere, with campaigners claiming it constitutes a “nuisance” under environmental laws. Save Windermere filed a complaint against United Utilities to Westmorland and Furness Council, alleging dozens of sewage discharges had caused a “statutory nuisance”.
23 June 2024 – The Malta Independent: British beaches and rivers have a sewage problem. It has seeped into election talk.
Britain has become notorious as a place where a casual swim could lead to an extended visit to the toilet, if not the hospital. A torrent of news on dirty water has spilled into next month’s election to determine which party controls government for the next four or five years.
21 June 2024 – iNews: How Labour’s promise to build 1.5 million homes could make sewage crisis worse.
Experts have warned the pledge could run into conflict with Labour’s aim to reduce the record amounts of sewage being discharged into our rivers and seas as there may not be suitable infrastructure available to match the increased pace of homebuilding.
18 June 2024 – Carve: Surfers Against Sewage’s UK tour puts sewage pollution at the heart of election debate.
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is set to travel the length of the UK in a bespoke double-decker tour bus, galvanising communities across the country to demand election candidates end sewage pollution. Launching today, SAS’s Election Road Trip will highlight the dire state of our rivers and seas as a key issue for voters at the general election in July.
14 June BBC News: BBC uncovers 6,000 possible illegal sewage spills in one year.
Every major English water company has reported data suggesting they’ve discharged raw sewage when the weather is dry – a practice which is potentially illegal. BBC News has analysed spills data from nine firms, which suggests sewage may have been discharged nearly 6,000 times when it had not been raining in 2022 – including during the country’s record heatwave.
14 June 2024 – Farming UK: Devon farmer who made illegal slurry store fined over £15,000.
Derek Dyer, a 74-year-old farmer from Yarcombe near Honiton, also polluted a stream after the slurry store built from farmyard manure collapsed.
Ed: If a farmer can be fined for a local spill, why not the water companies for widespread spillages?
13 June 2024 – Independent: Dozens of triathletes left severely ill after swimming in River Thames.
One triathlete was left throwing up blood in A&E after the Royal Windsor Triathlon in Berkshire on Sunday. At least 35 competitors found themselves getting “sicker and sicker” after the swimming leg of the 2,800-person Royal Windsor Triathlon in Berkshire on Sunday.
13 June 2024 – The Guardian: Dirty waters: how the Environment Agency lost its way.
Having created a watchdog for the environment, the government took its teeth out and muzzled it. Can public outrage rouse the Environment Agency to action?
12 June 2024 – iNews: Six water firms sued for £1.5bn by bill payers over sewage pollution.
The six water companies involved are Thames Water, Severn Trent, Northumbrian Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water and Yorkshire Water. Leigh Day Solicitors, the legal firm overseeing the six claims, said that between them the companies may have to pay anywhere between £878m and £1.5bn in damages.
12 June 2024 – iNews: Labour’s £5m donor urges Starmer to back i manifesto to Save Britain’s Rivers.
Green energy tycoon Dale Vince called on the party to back the “simple, strong” blueprint for rescuing Britain’s waterways and stop them from “being polluted for the sake of money”.
11 June 2024 – The Guardian: Severn Trent boss paid £3.2m despite firm’s fine for sewage spills in river.
Liv Garfield’s pay included a £584,000 bonus despite firm’s £2m fine for spilling 260m litres of sewage into River Trent.
10 June 2024 – The Mirror: New map shows all 22 bathing spots in England where it’s too polluted to swim.
There are hundreds of locations that have been classed as official bathing spots by the Environment Agency, allowing Brits to make the most of nature. However, our interactive map has revealed that 18 out of the 425 locations have “poor” water quality.
10 June 2024 – The Guardian: Boss of South West Water’s owner gains £300,000 pay rise.
Pay rise for Pennon Group CEO Susan Davy comes despite outrage over Devon diarrhoea outbreak caused by polluted water.
8 June 2024 – The Guardian: Water firm seizes stake in Devon sewage protester’s home over unpaid bills.
Imogen May, of Crediton, Devon, has withheld payment since 2019 and has a £2,809 debt. South West Water won a county court judgment over the debt and has claimed an interest in May’s cottage via the Land Registry. When it is sold, the company can claim what it says it is owed.
8 June 2014 – Independent: Outrage as ‘tidal wave’ of sewage floods historic market town’s unique chalk river continuously for months.
Water firm pumps sewage into river Misbourne, Amersham on 21 ‘dry days’ during nearly five month period. The Environment Agency (EA) defines a dry day as one when there has been no rainfall above 0.25mm on that day and the preceding 24 hours.
6 June 2024 – iNews: Lib Dems become first party to back i’s manifesto to Save Britain’s Rivers.
Ed Davey says ‘enough is enough’ as he commits to i’s five key pledges to protect the nation’s waterways.
5 June 2024 – iNews: Toxic water, debt and sewage dumping: How Britain’s rivers got so bad.
Public anger is growing over the level of sewage and other pollution in Britain’s waterways.
5 June 2024 – iNews: Save Britain’s Rivers: i challenges all parties to commit to election manifesto.
Today every political party in Britain is challenged to sign up to a blueprint that will save the nation’s rivers. Already, 21 prominent environmental groups and campaigners have backed i’s manifesto.
Ed: Five pledges are:
1. Improve river health.
2. Cut sewage spills.
3. Tougher watchdog.
4. 100 clean bathing sites.
5. Responsible farming.
4 June 2024 – BBC News: Estimated million tonnes of sewage pumped into sea [at Whitburn].
More than one million tonnes of raw sewage is estimated to have been released from a pumping station into the North Sea in 2023.Northumbrian Water produced the estimate of how much sewage was released from its Whitburn site after a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from South Tyneside resident Steve Lavelle.
1 June 2024 – East Anglia Bylines: Anglian Water faces backlash after conviction in Environment Agency probe.
Anglian Water has been convicted of failing to supply key information to the Environment Agency amid a criminal investigation into water companies. The firm was found guilty for failing, without reasonable excuse, to provide records related to its wastewater treatment works in Norfolk and across the region. The decision has left councillors and MPs in the county angry at the water company’s lack of transparency and have called for tougher action.
May 2024 (40 Posts)
31 May 2024 – BBC News: Cotswold residents invited to summit on sewage pollution.
The summit comes after sewage was pumped into the River Coln for more than 44 days in January. Run by Cotswold District Council, the Sewage Summit will take place at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester on 8 July. The free event will allow residents the opportunity to hear from and question water companies, local environmental groups and regulatory bodies.
Ed: This is my own back yard and I’ll be there to demand a clean River Coln at Fairford.
30 May 2024 – @Feargal_Sharkey on X: On Tuesday I asked you if water companies should be renationalised or kept private.
7,619 of you voted with an gigantic 98.8% saying they should be taken back into public ownership. The people have spoken.
29 May 2024 – This is MONEY: Outrage at Ofwat plans to cut sewage-dumping fines for water firms.
Campaigners were furious with watchdog Ofwat, which is understood to want to axe fines for firms that are struggling. Environmental groups dubbed the plans ‘disgusting’ as it would mean some utility companies face fewer or zero fines. They would instead be urged to invest to fend off nationalisation.
29 May 2024 – iNews: China and Abu Dhabi investors are holding Thames Water customers ‘to ransom’.
The nine major investors in Thames Water, which is struggling to secure its financial future as it seeks to manage a £18.3bn debt pile, significantly upped the stakes in their stand-off with industry regulator Ofwat on Wednesday when they declared Britain’s biggest water company to be “uninvestable” and withheld an expected cash injection of £500m due this week.
29 May 2024 – The Telegraph: Thames Water could dump more sewage in rivers under ‘recovery regime’.
Thames Water and other struggling utility companies will be allowed to release more sewage into Britain’s rivers under controversial plans being drawn up by regulators.
@Feargal_Sharkey on X: Ofwat does not work on behalf of customers or our environment and is nothing more than a lackey for the water companies.
28 May 2024 – The Guardian: Ofwat poised to refuse most suppliers’ requests for big price rises.
Ofwat is poised to refuse most water companies’ requests to ratchet up consumer bills, with some getting as little as half of what they have asked for, the Guardian has learned. The decision from the water watchdog for England and Wales, Ofwat, has been formally delayed until 11 July because of the general election. Its verdict, known as a draft determination, comes amid a growing crisis in the water sector.
25 May 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water tests for vomiting bug contamination as families fall sick.
After cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon, residents in south-east London report stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Now residents in Beckenham have reported being struck by a stomach bug which is causing days of vomiting and diarrhoea. They include a four-year-old boy suffering days of vomiting, and an adult woman who was so unwell she went to hospital with stomach pain, vomiting and dehydration.
23 May 2024 – Sussex Bylines: Paddle-out protest against water pollution.
Brighton seafront was awash with hundreds of local families, swimmers, paddle boarders and beach-lovers of all ages on Saturday morning, participating in a UK wide protest against the quality of our waters. Organised by the charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), ‘paddle-out against sewage pollution’ was one of 30 such protests at local beaches and rivers throughout Britain. SAS is calling for an end to the sewage discharges which are having a devastating impact on ecological and human health.
24 May 2024 – iNews: Water firms dump sewage at ‘world-class’ Blue Flag beaches.
20 of the 33 Blue Flag sites where sewage was released had at least 30 discharges last year. Nine Blue Flag beaches had more than 100 sewage discharges, i analysis reveals. Environmental activist Feargal Sharkey said i‘s analysis was “yet another illustration of the utter devastation and contempt water companies are showing towards their customers and society”.
24 May 2024 – West England Bylines: The Great British Sewage Scandal.
Roz Savage, ocean rower and Lib Dem candidate, asks why her local river, the Thames, is so polluted and calls for the water companies to be re-launched as Public Benefit Companies/Corporations. Can we please have a government with the intelligence, discernment and common sense to know what kind of solution to apply to which problem? And can we have it now?
23 May 2024 – The Times (Paywall): Severn Trent returns £350m to shareholders despite rising costs.
@Feargal_Sharkey on X: Over last 4 years @stwater has spent 1,709,396 hours, on 225,396 occasions, dumping sewage into the environment and yet still they pay shareholders £350m. They don’t give a flying fig.
23 May 2024 – The Independent: Activists unveil River Wye action plan to counter Government’s ‘vague’ proposals.
The authors of the Manifesto for the Wye have criticised the Government’s Action Plan for failing to tackle pollution and nature loss. A coalition of local environmental groups have put forward their own River Wye action plan as they criticised the Government’s “vague” proposals to tackle its pollution and nature loss.
22 May 2024 – iNews: I got sick after swimming in sewage-infested river, it’s disgusting.
A report backed by England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Witty has warned that treated waste still poses a threat to human health. A former triathlete struck down with sickness and diarrhoea after swimming in the River Thames fears she will never return to open water training. Professor Trish Greenhalgh, a doctor and professor in primary health care at the University of Oxford, started feeling unwell one day after swimming in a stretch river downstream from a sewage treatment works.
21 May 2024 – Bloomberg UK: Thames Water Kemble Bonds Close to Worthless as Board Exits.
The parent company of struggling British water utility Thames Water Ltd. saw its debt hit new lows after a wave of directors quit the board ahead of a crucial June 12 ruling [Ofwat assessment].
29 May 2024 – Frankfurt Stock Exchange quotes 5.521 for Thames Water [Kemble] Finance PLC 4,625% 20/26.
21 May 2024 – FT: South West Water owner under fire for unveiling dividend after parasitic outbreak.
South West Water owner Pennon drew instant criticism from MPs after announcing a £127mn dividend to shareholders, days after a parasitic outbreak in drinking water in Devon.
21 May 2024 – West Devon Info on X: The second round of #WaterQuality testing of bathing water by the @EnvAgencySW is in progress.
It has revealed elevated levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci in both tests at #Seaton, #Exmouh & #SandyBay in South East #Devon.
21 May 2024 – BBC News: Top engineers urge action against faeces in rivers.
Human faeces in our rivers is putting the public in danger and the risk will increase without action, the UK’s top engineers and scientists have warned in a report. The report led by the Royal Academy of Engineering called for an upgrade of the UK’s sewage system and more widespread testing of the country’s waterways. Prof Chris Whitty – England’s chief medical officer – said it was a “public health priority as well as an environmental one”.
Ed: The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s E+T magazine reports this too.
20 May 2024 – The Guardian: Fish deaths in England’s rivers rise tenfold in four years.
More than 216,000 fish died in 2022-2023, when England recorded a 54% increase in sewage spills. Stuart Singleton-White, the head of campaigns at the Angling Trust, said: “We can’t let these mass fish killings continue. This unprecedented increase in fish kills caused by sewage pollution is a clear indicator of the deteriorating health of our waterways. The public is quite rightly horrified by the huge environmental damage being done by sewage leaks in the name of water company profits.
18 May 2024 – The Guardian: ‘Clean water is a basic right’: protesters against sewage in seas and rivers gather across the UK.
Surfers and families vent their frustration with water companies after more news of poisoned drinking water and polluted lakes. “Cut the crap” and “Fishes not faeces” read some of the many colourful slogans at Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth where hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday to demand action over the scourge of sewage pollution in British waterways.
16 May 2024 – iNews: Don’t jump in, the water’s filthy.
As the water industry tries to defend the indefensible, campaigners warn ‘somebody is going to die’ because of high water pathogen levels. The events began with one firm, United Utilities, being accused of illegally dumping millions of litres of raw sewage into Windermere. By Wednesday afternoon, South West Water was telling residents in Devon to boil their tap water after it found traces of the infectious parasite Cryptosporidium in the supply. It was against this backdrop that key industry figures, including the regulator Ofwat, faced a grilling from MPs as part of an investigation into the water sector by the Environmental Audit Committee.
15 May 2024 – The Independent: Company pumps ‘millions of litres’ of raw sewage into Lake Windermere.
Raw sewage was pumped into the lake for nearly 10 hours in February after a telecommunication failure at a pumping station operated by United Utilities, a major water and wastewater services provider in the North West.
14 May 2024 – Farming UK: Devon farmer who made illegal slurry store fined over £15,000.
A Devon farmer has been ordered to pay out over £15,000 and undergo 60 hours of unpaid work after he contaminated a private water supply with an illegal slurry store. Derek Dyer, a 74-year-old farmer from Yarcombe near Honiton, also polluted a stream after the slurry store built from farmyard manure collapsed.
Ed: If EA can fine a farmer, why can’t they fine the water companies.
13 May 2024 – The Guardian: England gets 27 new bathing sites – but no guarantee they’ll be safe for swimming.
Water campaigner Feargal Sharkey says newly designated sites will join ‘ignoble, floundering list of failure’. Every single stretch of river in England currently tested carries a ‘do not swim’ advisory.
13 May 2024 – East Anglia Bylines: Sewage is wrecking the beautiful Stort valley.
Thames Water’s constant sewage discharges highlight their infrastructure failures amidst housing development plans across Hertfordshire. Flush the toilet in Harlow, Hertford, Welwyn Garden City or Stevenage, and whatever is in it could end up at Rye Meads, along with soapy dishwater, shampoo and bubble bath from the plughole, and rainwater from gullies.
9 May 2024 – Hampshire Chronicle: Romsey Town Council joins Pan Parish River Pollution Forum.
The Pan Parish River Pollution Forum was formed earlier this year, following widespread concerns about sewage and other pollution and contamination of the River Test. Town councillor Colin Burgess said: “I am annoyed and deeply concerned about the damage caused to the ecology of the River Test by repeated untreated wastewater overflows by Southern Water. Undoubtedly, this is impacting the river’s SSSI status, its wildlife and human activities like a lucrative angling industry. Hearing of a working dog taking ill after drinking from the Test at Broadlands is of particular concern because it poses a serious risk to public health, locally. I would therefore strongly advise residents not to enter the River Test and to keep domestic animals away from the water”.
@Feargal_Sharkey on X: It’s come to this, the Test, the finest example of a chalk stream on the planet and people are being advised to stay away.
9 May 2024 – Time Out UK: 13 UK beaches have received a ‘Brown Flag Award’ for dirty water and pollution.
A new study has used water quality data from the Environment Agency to name and shame the country’s grimiest coastlines. The UK is an island, obvs, so it’s hardly a shocker that we boast some magnificent stretches of coastline. However, not every British beach has a rep for clear waters and pretty scenery. Some of them are on the duttier [sic] end of the scale – especially after the increased levels of sewage pollution over the last few years.
9 May 2024 – Clive Lewis MP on X: Water companies in England have incurred debts of more than £64,000,000,000.
We won’t get the water infrastructure we need with privatised water. I have co-sponsored Early Day Motion 738, calling for English water companies to be brought under public control.
8 May 2024 – BBC News Wiltshire: Foragers warned of E. coli risk from ‘toxic’ wild garlic.
People are being urged not to forage wild garlic due to a “serious risk” of E. coli contamination. Marlborough Town Council in Wiltshire has issued the urgent notice for areas near a tributary of the River Kennet, including St George’s Preshute. Nearby Coopers Meadow flooded with “a significant amount of human waste” after sewers overflowed on 5 January.
7 May 2024 – @Wildfish on X: We should all be alarmed (but perhaps not surprised!) …
… by a report from the @EnvAgency that evidences salmon on the river’s Itchen and Test are suffocating in a sea of sewage.
Ed: Those are the rivers we at the pre-nationalisation Southern Water Authority worked so hard to keep pristine.
9 May 2024 – Western Daily Press: Green River Targets to be missed.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found the Government and Environment Agency (EA) are off track to meet targets for 77% of England’s water bodies to reach good condition by 2027.
9 May 2024 – The Guardian: England’s rivers to remain in poor state as EU laws ignored post-Brexit, says watchdog.
Government’s failure to match EU measures to improve condition of rivers, lakes and oceans called ‘deeply concerning’. When Britain was a member of the EU, the government was required to follow the water framework directive (WFD), standards for waterways that have been credited with cleaning up Europe’s dirty water. Since Brexit, the UK is no longer required to match EU regulations, and has its own watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP).
6 May 2024 – BBC News Wiltshire: Environment groups call for urgent action on sewage spills.
The Angling Trust and Action for the River Kennet (ARK) have called for immediate government intervention on sewage pollution. The groups stress that without this, the ecological health and biodiversity of chalk streams in the Kennet, Lambourn and Pang rivers are at risk of long-term, irreversible damage.
6 May 2024 – iNews ‘Save Britain’s Rivers’: The rivers that are too full of sewage to clean up.
Conservationists in the Thames Valley have warned they cannot carry out river restoration works because constant sewage discharges are making the water too “unsafe” to enter. Rivers in the Colne Valley, which sits to the west of London, are being taken over by invasive species that choke aquatic life because volunteers have been left unable to enter the water to clear them, campaigners say.
Feargal Sharkey on X: You get to the point where no amount of good will is going to fix it. We needed govt to develop a clear, well thought through, deliverable strategy. All we got was another steaming pile of sewage.
5 May 2024 – iNews: ‘Diabolical’: Tens of thousands left without water three days after pipe burst.
Some 32,000 homes in East Sussex were without running water for a third day running on Sunday after a mains pipe burst. Southern Water said on Sunday morning it was “very sorry” that people in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings and Westfield were still without water, later announcing supplies were gradually being restored in St Leonards and Hastings.
4 May 2024 – CNN: It’s been two years since the UK’s poop-engulfed beaches became a national scandal. Now it’s even worse.
It was late 2021 when James Richardson heard about England’s poop problem. “I saw a tweet talking about the extent of the problem, and the numbers were so enormous I thought it couldn’t be true – that there was so much sewage being dumped,” he says now.
5 May 2024 – This is MONEY: Water firms drowning in sea of debt as borrowing ‘bigger than Ofwat figures suggest’.
Experts say Ofwat’s measure masks the scale of the problems they face. Thames Water, whose parent company is on the brink of going bust, has what looks like a relatively low level of debt – 80 per cent – compared with its overall funding. But using traditional accounting methods its debt level would be more than 1,000 per cent, according to academic David Hall at the University of Greenwich.
Feargal Sharkey on X: @Ofwat is as much to blame for @thameswater‘s bankruptcy as greed, mismanagement and incompetence.
3 May 2024 – SOS @saveourswale: Tsunami of sewage this morning at Richmond Wastewater Treatment works.
Triggered after 5 mins of light rain! Exceptional circumstances- not!
2 May 2024 – The Telegraph: Swimming race cancelled after sewage discharged into Thames for 10 hours.
Swimmers in Berkshire have been warned off the River Thames for the Boulter’s to Bray Swim. Stretch of river for Boulter’s to Bray Swim, which began in Victorian era, ‘less safe than it has ever been’.
1 May 2024 – ‘Pearls and Irritations’ (Australian publication): The UK’s Thames Water and Macquarie Group rip off.
The UK’s Thames Water – infamous for pumping raw sewage into waterways – parent company has now defaulted on its debt. Why should the failure of a UK water company be of interest to Australia and Australians? First, because it illustrates the failure of many privatisations to improve service and performance. Second, because it is symptomatic of problems throughout the UK not only in the water industry but also other services – from railways to NHS supplies. …and finally, because at the heart of the problems was the Australian Macquarie Group – dubbed the vampire kangaroo in a nod to Goldman Sachs’s great vampire squid taunt.
1 May 2024 – The Guardian: All we wanted was to protect the River Wye from pollution. Now we’re stuck in a catch-22.
To protect our local river we had to prove it was being used for swimming. But that, bizarrely, is the reason we were rejected. This is an absurd, catch-22 situation. The only way to protect the river is to prove people swim in it – but to have people actually in the water, according to the Welsh government, is to environmentally endanger it.
April 2024 (44 Posts)
29 April 2024 – Action for the River Kennet: Marlborough’s most famous manhole made to tonight’s episode of ITV NEWS WEST COUNTRY.
The underwater camera shows what hundreds of hours of untreated [sewage] pouring from this burst manhole has done to the riverbed of the Kennet, coating what should be clean gravels. #chalkstream
28 April 2024 – Leigh Day: Wild swimmer takes legal action against water company after her local beach in Devon was polluted by raw sewage.
A wild swimmer from Devon is taking legal action against South West Water after the beach where she regularly swims was contaminated by untreated sewage. Jo Bateman’s claim against South West Water is for a loss of amenity for the period in which she was unable to swim – loss of amenity is when there is a loss in the quality of a person’s life. As well as enjoying swimming, she relies on it for her mental and physical wellbeing and says that not being able to wild swim impacted her quality of life. She is represented in the claim by Oliver Holland, partner at the law firm Leigh Day and is being supported by Good Law Project.
28 April 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water collapse could trigger Truss-style borrowing crisis, Whitehall officials fear.
Concerns over effect on UK’s finances lead officials to believe utility should be renationalised before general election. Officials in the Treasury and the UK’s Debt Management Office fear that, unless the UK’s biggest water company is renationalised as soon as possible, “prolonged uncertainty” about its fate could “damage confidence in UK plc at a sensitive time”, with elections in the UK and the US later this year.
26 April 2024 – The Guardian: How the overseas owners of the UK’s water companies clean up by polluting our rivers.
Soiled seas and huge shareholder dividends: where has the £64bn borrowed by firms since privatisation gone? So that’s how they do it. I’d been wondering how, when more sewage has been entering our rivers than ever before, some of the water companies have managed to improve the ratio of the sewage they treat v the sewage that pours untreated from their storm overflows into our rivers and the sea. Now we know. It’s called “flow trimming”. Sounds innocuous, doesn’t it? What it means is that sewage is diverted into rivers and ditches upstream of the water treatment works. By reducing the amount of sewage entering the works, the companies can claim to be dealing responsibly with a higher proportion of it.
24 April 2024 – The Guardian: Tory duty on Ofwat protects profits over reducing sewage pollution, experts say.
Campaigners fear growth duty will hamper water regulator’s ability to crack down on companies in poor financial state. Campaigners fear this move will weaken Ofwat’s ability to crack down on water companies as it may force the regulator to consider a company’s financial situation and the impact on its growth if the firm is heavily fined for polluting.
23 April 2024 – The Telegraph: Thames Water plans £2bn shareholder payouts despite threat of collapse.
Troubled supplier plans to hand dividend to parent company to cover debt costs. In a revised business plan submitted to regulator Ofwat, bosses of the troubled supplier said they intended to keep rewarding shareholders even as financial pressures push it closer to bankruptcy.
23 April 2024 – FT: Two UK water companies lack complete maps of sewage networks.
Two of Britain’s biggest water companies have failed to map large parts of their sewage networks, underscoring the challenge facing privatised utilities as they try to fix their poor environmental record and reduce spills. Thames Water and Southern Water only mapped the pipes as they worked on them, leaving a large proportion of the network unchecked, the two companies revealed in responses to freedom of information requests.
@WindrushWasp Southern Water’s ridiculous excuse for not knowing where almost half of its sewers are: The cost of “physically mapping the network was considered prohibitive” @FT Meaning they wanted that billpayer money for shareholders instead and @Ofwat let them.
23 April 2024 – North East Bylines: Sewage dumping in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland soars by 325%.
Lib Dem spokesperson warns that the government faces a reckoning as people are fed up with the sewage scandal. The analysis is based on official data from the Environment Agency, compiled by the House of Commons Library for the Liberal Democrats. It shows sewage was dumped into local waterways on 787 separate occasions in 2023. This is a 144% increase in the number of sewage spills, up from 322 in 2022.
21 April 2024 – The Guardian: ‘No dividing line’: consultants advising private water companies also work for their regulator, Ofwat.
Campaigners call for the whole regulatory system to be replaced after Observer analysis finds watchdog spent more than £25m with consultancies.
20 April 2024 – The Guardian: ‘Dirty secret’: insiders say UK water firms knowingly break sewage laws.
Whistleblowers say UK water companies are knowingly failing to treat legally required amounts of sewage, and that some treatment works are manipulating wastewater systems to divert raw sewage away from the works and into rivers and seas.
20 April 2024 – The Telegraph: Thames Water and its lenders enlist lawyers amid nationalisation threat.
Utility provider’s creditors are facing a wave of uncertainty over the supplier’s future.
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution WASP on X: Who is paying the lawyers to defend the big money interests behind the Thames Water Scam? Wouldn’t be the billpayers would it? Can we have some transparency @Ofwat please?
20 April 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: ‘Ecocide’ law campaign could lead to jail for polluting water firm bosses.
Green campaigners are demanding a radical shake-up in environment law to stop the UK falling behind the EU. Campaigners fear the UK is falling behind the EU after Brexit, with Brussels having agreed earlier this year to a directive punishing offences “comparable to ecocide”.
17 April 2024 – North Devon Gazette: South West Water in court over alleged environmental offences.
The water company faces a series of alleged offences between 2015 and 2021 with alleged offences having taken place across Cornwall and Plymouth. The company appeared before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court today where it faced 30 charges relating to illegal water discharge activities and breaches of environmental permits.
16 April 2024 – ITV News: Disabled woman ‘used cat litter as toilet’ because of sewage problems in West Norfolk villages.
At a public meeting in Grimston, near King’s Lynn in Norfolk, villagers told representatives from Anglian Water about the impact on their lives and properties. One 87-year-old woman, who said she had recently become disabled after a stroke, said she had been forced to extreme measures because her toilet was blocked so often. “I’ve had to resort to sitting on cat litter to get rid of my own waste, because the sewer in front of my house is so bad that whenever we get heavy rain it overflows and it flows back into my drains,” she said.
16 April 2024 – Mirror: ‘Filthy rich’ water and sewage bosses branded a ‘farce’ after handing almost £80bn to invest.
Since Tory leader Margaret Thatcher opened the way for privatisation of water and sewage companies in 1989 many have been swamped in debt, yet industry bosses are raking it in.
16 April 2024 – The Times: Tories hold three quarters of worst-hit seats for sewage spills.
@paulcotswolds on X: The Cotswolds is one of these 75 constituencies – blighted by raw sewage flowing into our waterways. A scandal overseen by Geoffrey Clifton Brown’s Tories #sewage #BlueWall.
17 April 2024 – Steve Backshall on Instagram: Steve interviews Andrew Scott of Thames Water.
Ed: Complete abrogation of responsibility. This video, an interview with someone from Thames Water, speaks volumes about to company’s attitudes. Apparently releasing untreated sewage into the river is in their eyes a normal thing to do, and if you want to learn more about it you should approach the environment agency. And it’s alright because the Thames is not a designated bathing river. This is way beyond outrageous!
17 April 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Broads, New Forest and Peak District have ‘worst quality rivers’ in national parks.
Sewage spills were citied as one of the major reasons why rivers and lakes in national parks are ‘failing’. Almost two thirds of rivers that flow through national parks in England do not meet a good ecological status, a study has found. The Campaign for National Parks has found 60.6 per cent of rivers in English national parks are “failing”, as well as 84.8 per cent of lakes. It said sewage spills were partly to blame for the declining water quality in national parks and accused regulators of “ignoring” the areas’ protected status.
17 April 2024 – BBC News: Steve Backshall describes River Thames pollution as ‘toxic’.
Bangor University analysis found high levels of norovirus and E. coli in water taken near the border between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Samples were taken downstream from Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works. Thames Water, which operates the works, said all discharges from the site had been fully compliant with environmental law [sic].
16 April 2024 – The Times: Tories hold three quarters of worst-hit seats for sewage spills.
Conservatives face a ‘reckoning at the ballot box’ from voters angry over pollution say Liberal Democrats. Among the top 100 constituencies in England worst affected by the dumping, which typically happens when sewers are overwhelmed by heavy rainfall, 75 were held by Tory MPs. Three of the seats were held by the Liberal Democrats, and the rest by Labour.
16 April 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Macquarie, the vampire kangaroo, already picking over the corpse of @thameswater a situation it created, has its fangs in @SouthernWater and now it’s coming after your gas supply.
From National Gas: On the 11 March 2024, Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation increased their equity interest in National Gas Transmission to 80%, with National Grid maintaining a 20% interest in the business.
15 April 2024 – Good Morning Britain (GMB): Actor Steve Coogan has joined protestors in a very high profile fight to stop sewage being dumped into Lake Windermere in the Lake District by the local water company, United Utilities.
He tells @susannareid100 & @edballs that he is calling on the company to clear up the lake.
15 April 2024 – Good Morning Britain (GMB): How can you defend this appalling situation?’ – @susannareid100.
Susanna challenges Chris Matthews from United Utilities following data that the company dumped more than 27,000 hours worth of untreated sewage since 2020. Mr Matthews is also asked to reveal what the return to shareholders was after the company had a net profit of around £300 million last year.
15 April 2024 – FT: Water companies pay £2.5bn in dividends in two years as debt climbs by £8.2bn.
The updated figures mean that the 16 water monopolies have paid out a total of £78bn in dividends in the 32 years between privatisation in 1991 to March 2023, according to the research, which is based on regulatory data and then adjusted for inflation.
12 April 2024 – West England Bylines: Was there ever ‘shareholder support’ for Thames Water?
New writer Stanley Root’s analysis of Thames Water’s accounts shows that there has never been a year since privatisation when shareholders contributed more cash than they took out.
13 April 2024 – iNews: Inside No 10’s emergency plans to save Thames Water.
Downing Street is trying its best to avoid a special administration, and both major parties have ruled out nationalising the beleaguered water company. Solutions including placing the company into special administration, persuading existing shareholders to continue funding the business, finding new ones or a potential FTSE listing are all being considered, Whitehall sources have told i.
10 April 2024 – European Parliament News: New EU rules to improve urban wastewater treatment and reuse.
The legislation will significantly improve water management and wastewater treatment standards in Europe, especially with new rules on removing micro-pollutants coming from medicines and personal care products.
11 April 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Ofwat’s own research proves yet again the regulator is delusional.
69% of people say WCs DO NOT provide a good service. 78% they ARE NOT value for money. 77% DO NOT trust WCs to do what’s right for the enviro. 79% say they DO NOT act in the interest of the enviro.
9 April 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Rearranging of the deckchairs at Thames Water owner.
There seems to be an awful lot of rearranging of the deckchairs at Kemble Water Holdings Ltd, ultimate owner of @thameswater. The company, currently £16.3bn in debt, has seen 13 directors hired or fired since Jan this year. What could possible be going on?
9 April 2024 – iNews – Save British Rivers: ‘Thames Water sewage floods my garden as dead fish float by – it’s disgusting’.
Residents of Eton Wick in Berkshire claim that they regularly see dead fish floating along the stream by their back gardens. Residents living alongside the Roundmoor stream told i that sewage discharges flowing from the facility provide weeds in the stream with “nutrients and sediments,” causing them to grow at significant rates. As the weeds grow, residents claim they obstruct the stream’s flow, causing it to flood into their back gardens.
Ed: And what is our Eton-educated government doing to help the college’s neighbours?
8 April 2024 – iNews – Save British Rivers: Thames Water treatment facility leaves entire town reeking of sewage.
Untreated sewage flows to Eton Wick in Berkshire from the company’s plant in Slough. Eton and Castle councillor Mark Wilson told i that when untreated sewage is discharged into Roundmoor during storm overflows, Eton Wick is permeated with an “unbearable” stench of sewage. “Residents effectively have an open sewer running through their back garden.”
6 April 2024 – The Express: Environment watchdog meets with water lobbyists for £100 dinner days before bill hike.
Water regulator Ofwat has previously been accused of a cover-up after failing to declare dinners its chairman had with water company executives at a private members’ club as hospitality. [Now] The chair of the Environment Agency accepted a nearly £100 dinner from water company lobbyists just days before water bills were hiked by 40%. Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron MP said: “This will rightly stink to the public. Government officials shouldn’t be accepting a penny from a disgraced industry which pollutes our rivers whilst hiking bills”.
5 April 2024 – Action for River Kennet on X: 1 million units of bacteria per ml – yes you read that correctly!!!!!!!
Our latest River Lambourn water quality results are in & our volunteer WQ tester, Professor Michael Wilson – Emeritus Professor of Microbiology UCL describes this as very high & very concerning.
5 April 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution: Predators or parasites? Certainly not investors.
Thames Water is in trouble ,,, There has never been a year since privatisation when shareholders contributed more cash than they took out.
Ed: Look out for our reprint of the full report.
5 April 2024 – iNews: Sewage pollution and water bills could rise as Government moves to ‘diminish’ regulator.
The Liberal Democrats are leading a revolt against the plans, which it says are being “essentially rushed through the Commons without proper scrutiny”, i can reveal. The party has secured a debate and vote on the issue in the House of Lords on 15 April, led by Baroness Bakewell, which could pressure the Government to row back its decision to apply a “growth duty” to Ofwat, Ofgem and Ofcom.
4 April 2024 – The Standard: Thames Water wants to raise prices 40%, spill more sewage and not be fined – after lining shareholders’ pockets.
Early last year, regulator Ofwat at last woke up to the exploitation of the complex financial structures around our water companies. Holding companies had been allowed to borrow against water firms’ assets to increase dividends to shareholders. The problem is that, as regulator, it only has powers to regulate one level of the multi-layered ownership structure. By late 2022 Thames Water’s external shareholders included Kemble Water Holdings, Kemble Water Eurobond and Kemble Water Finance; the financing company Thames Water (Kemble) Finance, which in turn was the 100 per cent owner of Thames Water, itself the 100 per cent owner of Thames Water Utilities Holdings which was the 100 per cent owner of the only piece of the jigsaw that Ofwat actually regulates: Thames Water Utilities.
4 April 2024 – BBC News (Gloucestershire): Record sewage spills in county – Environment Agency.
Overflows across the county saw thousands of hours of untreated sewage being let into rivers. Some of the worst offenders include a storm overflow on the River Severn, near Frampton, which spilled 206 times in 2023, the equivalent of 161 days of non-stop spilling, statistics from the Environment Agency have revealed. Elsewhere, the River Coln, near Fairford, saw 141 days of spills and Blockley Brook, near Draycott, saw 147 days of sewage spills.
Ed: My home town of Fairford is one of the worst offenders!
3 April 2024 – The Guardian: Specieswatch: Windermere char under threat from raw sewage.
Raw sewage from United Utilities overflows has been flooding into Windermere. If this situation continues, the char habitat may never be the same.
3 April 2024 – The Guardian: One in three UK water workers verbally abused amid sewage fury, GMB finds.
Public anger over river pollution affecting employee safety, union survey suggests. Water industry workers say they have been physically assaulted and feel unsafe working alone for fear of attack amid a public backlash over sewage dumping.
2 April 2024 – Business Green: Labour vows to put polluting water firms under ‘special measures’.
Labour has pledged to put water companies that illegally dump sewage into England’s rivers and seas under special measures, as it released data claiming that waterborne diseases have soared in recent years.
1 April 2024 – iNews: The state of Britain’s rivers are a national shame after the Boat Race.
“Thames Water must be re-nationalised – there is no other option” [says Stefano Hatfield] “as someone who lives a stone’s throw from the River Thames in Hammersmith, west London, I’m thinking about how an event that used to make me feel lucky to live here is now a source of real international shame thanks to the waters it takes place on. It’s all gone a bit shit. Literally”.
1 April 2024 – iNews: Raw sewage pumped into River Thames tributaries on Boat Race day.
Thames Water discharged sewage into a stream feeding into the River Thames on the day of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, i can reveal. Storm overflows were releasing raw sewage into the River Mole, a nearby Thames tributary, from the early hours of the morning on 28 March until after the race had finished, according to data from the Thames Water’s storm discharge map. Sewage was also released into the River Wey in Weybridge, a main tributary of the Thames, throughout the race on Saturday, the map showed.
1 April 2024 – The Times: Rise of the sewage tanker causes stink in rural towns.
Residents complain of noise and sleep deprivation as figures show increased use of waste transport lorries. “Over the last few years the number of tankers has increased sharply, causing considerable damage to roads and inconvenience to residents,” said Andy Tyerman of campaign group End Sewage Convoys And Pollution Exmouth.
1 April 2024 – The Guardian: UK at risk of summer water shortages and hosepipe bans, scientists warn.
Leading scientists have said that because the UK is not storing its water properly, the country is vulnerable to the “all or nothing” rain patterns being experienced more frequently due to climate breakdown. There have been no new major reservoirs built in the past three decades, rivers have been engineered to move water quickly so it runs into towns and cities – causing floods – and the sea, and many wetlands have been drained and farmed or built on. This means the water that pelts the UK in winter is not being stored properly, causing floods followed by water shortages in summer.
Ed: This is no ‘April Fool’; this is yet another example of the water companies refusing to invest in the reservoirs needed to ensure our water security. Just to show this, data from my old research institute, Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, shows that only 43 billion litres of capacity was built in the decade prior to privatisation (1980s), compared to 348 billion litres in 30 years since.
March 2024 (41 posts)
31 March 2024 – The Telegraph: Sewage dumping at bathing spots up nearly 50pc in a year.
Lib Dems accuse water companies of ‘environmental vandalism’ and declare scandal ‘cannot be allowed to continue’.
Ed: To avoid the Telegraph paywall read The Mirror: Fury as sewage dumping in bathing areas like beaches soar.
The worst-affected bathing area was in Allonby in Cumbria, where United Utilities dumped over 4,500 hours worth of sewage. This was followed by Haverigg, also in Cumbria, where the same company dumped 3,600 hours of sewage into bathing spots. The third hotspot was Middleton-on-sea in West Sussex, where 3,500 hours of sewage was dumped by Southern Water.
27 March 2024 – ITV News: Record sewage spills in England causing marine species to swallow cocktail of drugs.
The record sewage spills are causing marine species to swallow a cocktail of drugs, biology Professor Alex Ford from the University of Portsmouth, which has been carrying out research at Langstone Harbour in Hampshire. Crabs, oysters, limpets and seaweed in the area have been found to contain antidepressants, contraceptive pills, as well as illegal drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
30 March 2024 – iNews: Public has no right to swim in sea, claims firm that dumped sewage at bathing spot.
As South West Water defends a court action from a Devon swimmer, it also claims it has no legal duty to keep waters clean. South West Water is claiming it has no legal obligation to keep rivers and seawater clean of sewage in its defence against a Devon swimmer who is taking the water company to court. Jo Bateman, who attempts to swim every day off the coast of Exmouth, is taking legal action against South West Water, claiming its frequent sewage discharges into the sea have taken away her legal right to a public “amenity”. However, in its defence to Ms Bateman’s claim, seen by i, the water firm states no one has a legal right to swim in the sea.
29 March 2024 – iNews: Raw sewage pumped into Lake District 20 years after water firm’s promise to stop.
A United Utilities pumping station discharged sewage into the River Eea for more than 6,471 hours in 2023. In 2001, United Utilities accepted there were “overloading” problems at the station and told local newspaper the Westmorland Gazette it would be investing in the site to reduce spills. But the polluting continued and residents have told of seeing toilet paper, sanitary towels and dead fish in the water which often gave off a vile stench.
31 March 2024 – The Independent: Oxford rower complains about ‘too much poo in water’ after heartbreaking Boat Race loss to Cambridge.
Leonard Jenkins has confirmed members of the men’s team were sick due to the E Coli strain found in the water of the River Thames. Build-up to the race was overshadowed earlier in the week after rowers were warned to not enter the water after E coli bacteria was discovered.
30 March 2024 – Philip Greenwood on Waterways Protection: South West Water doesn’t actually exist!
South West Water doesn’t actually exist, it is simply a brand name that is 100% owned by Pennon Group PLC @PennonGroup which is a FTSE 250 company, they also own Bournemouth Water @BmouthWater and Bristol water @BristolWater.
29 March 2024 – The Guardian: Do not enter the water: how dirty Boat Race has captured world’s attention.
The New York Times, Fox News, ABC, CNN and numerous other international media have run stories in the build-up to Saturday’s race – although it is what is floating in the Thames, rather than on top of it, that has piqued their interest. As Thursday’s New York Times put it: “The warning was stern: Do not enter the water. Not because of the tide. Not because of sharks. Because of the sewage.
Ed: See also our dedicated article: The Boat Race and Sewage.
29 March 2024 – The Guardian: Hospital admissions for waterborne diseases in England up 60%, report shows.
Waterborne diseases such as dysentery and Weil’s disease have risen by 60% since 2010 in England, new figures reveal. Analysis of NHS hospital admissions by the Labour party has found that the number of people admitted to hospital with diseases tansmitted via waterborne infection has increased from 2,085 in 2010-11 to 3,286 in 2022-23.
28 March 2024 – BBC News: Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023.
According to the Environment Agency there were 3.6 million hours of spills compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022. Water UK, the industry body for sewerage companies, said it was ‘unacceptable’ but the record levels were due to heavy rain. Sewage spilling can be legal but environmentalists say it should only happen in exceptional weather.
Ed: Water UK statement is misleading. Spills are only legal in ‘exceptional’ circumstances, not for weeks on end.
28 March 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Thames Water confirms it, shareholders are not prepared to bail the company out.
Will TW make it through the holiday weekend? Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock … Not a penny of the public’s money, you hear that @RishiSunak @10DowningStreet, not a penny of the public’s money.
28 March 2024 – New Statesman: Who killed Thames Water?
Britain’s biggest water company is at risk of insolvency, and there is plenty of blame to go around. … Sajid Javid (RPI) … Australian investment company MacQuarie (debt) … The weather (rain) ,,, Margaret Thatcher (privatisation).
28 March 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Labour sewage plan branded ‘feeble’ as scale of crisis revealed.
Labour’s plan to ban bonuses for water bosses has been branded a “feeble gesture” as campaigners call on political parties to commit to stronger measures to solve Britain’s sewage crisis. The extent of Britain’s sewage problem was laid bare on Wednesday as official figures showed a record amount of untreated waste was dumped into rivers, lakes and seas in 2023. The figures have led to calls for urgent reform to the water industry, which has been accused of underinvesting in its infrastructure over a period of decades.
28 March 2024 – Extinction Rebellion UK: Don’t Pay for Dirty Water.
Don’t Pay for Dirty Water is an autonomous campaign of individuals who want clean water. We are withholding payment of the sewerage charge portion of our bills until the UK government and water companies stop poisoning and start cleaning up coasts and waterways across the UK.
28 March 2024 – FT: Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race to go ahead despite ‘dangerous’ pollution in Thames.
Organisers say teams have been briefed to ensure they are ‘as safe as possible’ after high levels of E. coli found due to sewage discharges. The situation has also cast doubt on whether the winning team will stick with the long-running tradition of jumping into the river after the race.
28 March 2024 – Dozens of articles on the crisis at Thames Water.
> Reuters: UK’s Thames Water in crisis after shareholders refuse to pay up.
> The Guardian: Michael Gove has ‘zero sympathy’ for ‘arrogant’ Thames Water in funding crisis.
> ITV X: Thames Water scrambles to find cash after investors pull funding.
> BBC News: Thames Water boss says bills need to rise by 40%.
> University and College Union (UCU): UCU calls for Thames Water to be renationalised.
> Tax Research: Will Thames Water finally force Labour to address the nationalisation issue?.
24 March 2024 – Channel 4 News on X: England’s largest natural lake, and World Heritage site, could be putting swimmer health at risk, say campaigners.
Lake Windermere’s waters are classed as “excellent” by the Environment Agency, but critics say the testing regime isn’t up to the job.
23 March 2024 – Canterbury Newsroom: Bishopstone Glen sewage release.
Southern Water’s sewer pipe in Bishopstone burst this afternoon (Saturday 23 March), leading to sewage flowing into Bishopstone Glen. The spill from the burst sewer pipe on Gainsborough Drive/Fairfax Drive was stopped at 6pm. Southern Water is currently using four tankers to manage wastewater flows. They are also installing an over pump this evening to manage flows further until they repair the burst pipe.
23 March 2024 – iNews: Rishi Sunak pinning hopes on ‘CEO’ aide to fix Thames Water crisis.
Lord Petitgas, a former banking executive and now Downing Street adviser, has joined critical talks between the regulator Ofwat and Thames Water, amid reports of a stand off over payments to shareholders. i previously revealed that the company was under investigation by Ofwat over paying dividends even as it lurched into a deeper financial abyss.
22 March 2024 – The Guardian: England won’t adopt EU river pollution rules for pharma and cosmetics firms.
Campaigners say government is failing to match major step forward as bloc prepares to introduce ‘polluter pays’ principle. Chloe Alexander, a senior campaigner at the CHEM Trust, said: “The UK must urgently mirror EU measures to make polluters pay to remedy the problems they cause, as well as to ban the use of harmful chemicals at source, before they harm our health and pollute our environment.
20 March 2024 – The Express: MP accuses environment ministers of ‘avoiding scrutiny’ over Thames Water collapse plans.
Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park Sarah Olney wrote to the Commons Procedure Committee to investigate environment ministers’ failure to answer parliamentary questions about the water firm. Thames Water is attempting to avoid a government bailout as officials make contingency plans for its failure dubbed Project Timber.
19 March 2024 – iNews (Save Britain’s Rivers): Food giant faces threat of payouts to residents over River Wye pollution.
Law firm Leigh Day is bringing a claim against Avara Food Limited alleging industrial scale poultry farming is polluting the river and its surrounding land. It will argue that Avara, the region’s largest poultry processor, should clean up the river and pay compensation to those who have been affected by the pollution.
18 March 2024 – @SOSWhitstable on X: Littlehampton sewage.
Since our last update on the ongoing @SouthernWater sewage release in Littlehampton, it’s increased to 722 hours. That’s 30 consecutive days of sewage.
15 March 2024 – @Riveraction on X: THE STATE OF OUR SEWAGE INDUSTRY IS A NATIONAL SCANDAL.
Thank you, @Stevebackshall! #riverchampion. Another poignant [film] exposing the appalling state of our rivers – courtesy of failing water companies, complete regulatory failure and government inaction.
15 March 2024 – The Guardian – Water firms’ profits in England and Wales almost double since 2019, find Lib Dems.
Party to call for measures to stop companies prioritising profit over environment at spring conference. During this parliament, which started in 2019, pre-tax profits at water companies have climbed by 82%, according to a Liberal Democrat analysis of Companies House data.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Now about that up to 70% price hike water companies are demanding? Remember that when you next find yourself standing at the ballot box.
14 March 2024 – The Conversation: Eight ways to overhaul the UK’s inadequate sewer system.
Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a legacy of a bygone era. Victorian combined sewers, designed to collect both sewage and surface water runoff, are buckling under the pressure. When excess rainwater overwhelms their capacity, overflows are triggered, releasing untreated sewage and rainwater directly into rivers, lakes and the sea.
Ed: This article misses the point. Seven of the eight remedies put the onus on the consumer when it’s the water companies who need to invest in the infrastructure they’ve neglected for 30 years. Also only 20% of sewerage infrastructure is Victorian.
13 March 2024 – WildFish: Southern Water and the Environment Agency’s broken promises to the Test and Itchen.
WildFish has uncovered Southern Water and the Environment Agency’s (EA) plan to abandon Southern Water’s commitment to end over-abstraction of the rivers Test and Itchen by 2027. Extending the deadline to 2035 at the earliest risks wiping out endangered chalk stream Atlantic salmon and wrecking the chalk stream’s fragile ecology. The original deadline was the result of a public inquiry so any changes should receive the same public scrutiny. As things currently stand, Southern Water and the EA are treating the River Test, Itchen and the public with contempt.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Yet again @EnvAgency caught redhanded working with a WC @SouthernWater to help them bypass a court imposed legal commitment. The result, “risks wiping out endangered chalk stream Atlantic salmon and wrecking”, the Test’s and Itchen’s fragile ecology.
12 March 2024 – Matt Staniek on X: Sewage being discharged into the Lake District National Park and @UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The EA is permitting up to 1.1 million litres a day and up to 13 litres a second to come out of this pipe. Langdale WWTW, where the pipe originates, has no UV disinfectant, so this likely contains a whole host of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., that you don’t want to be ingesting if you’re swimming in the river.
11 March 2024 – East Anglian Daily Times: Anglian Water set to invest £50m to stop sewage spills.
The new funding will support their commitment to having less than 20 spills per overflow by 2025, in line with their Get River Positive commitments and Ofwat Performance Commitments. There will be 8,000 new sewer monitors to check flows and spot blockages early, building on the 22,000 new monitors already being installed.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Would that be the same @AnglianWater that last year paid shareholders £169m in dividends and £868m in interest and loan repayments all of it funded out of bill payers pockets? Get real.
11 March 2024 – The Guardian: Thames Water absent from industry’s £180m anti-pollution drive.
Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiative. Thames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a £180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England’s waterways.
Feargal Sharkey on X: What an absolute shambles. @DefraGovUK wanted to make a BIG sewage announcement this morning and @thameswater basically told them to get stuffed. TW cut £1.134 billion from its sewage spending money it was supposed to have invested before 2025. Oops!
8 March 2024 – iNews: Watchdog has no idea how much sewage is spilling into protected Lake District site.
The lake is showing signs of environmental damage, but the Environment Agency (EA) is not collecting any data. Esthwaite Water is a 280-acre (1.13 km2) lake connected to England’s largest lake, Windermere. It is known as being the favourite spot of children’s author and former Lake District resident Beatrix Potter, but it now frequently contains algal blooms that can be deadly for the lake’s aquatic life.
7 March 2024 – The Standard: Environment Agency says white foam at Teddington Lock was natural occurrence as sewage row intensifies.
A London MP has slammed the Environment Agency after it said white foam spotted in the River Thames she called “disgusting sewage” was not pollution but a natural occurrence. An Environment Agency (EA) spokesman said on Thursday: “A specialist officer found no sign of harm to the environment after an online report of white foam on the surface of the River Thames at Teddington.”
6 March 2024 – iNews: Sewage bursts through manhole covers into rare chalk stream for 10 weeks.
Raw sewage has been flowing from manholes into a rare chalk stream in Berkshire for more than two months as Thames Water’s infrastructure has struggled to cope with continuing wet weather. The village of Lambourn, that sits within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has been littered with toilet paper, tampons and “lumps of faeces”. Anna Forbes, the senior project officer at Action for the River Kennet (ARK), … claimed. “It’s just horrible that you’ve got this beautiful little village and yet people are walking through untreated sewage.
6 March 2024 – National World: Thames Water: Fears mount that collapse of UK’s largest water company will cost taxpayers billions of pounds.
When asked about the situation with Thames Water, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister told NationalWorld: “I wouldn’t get into speculation or comment on commercial matters.” When the spokeswoman was asked more widely on whether water companies should be nationalised, she pointed towards the Plan for Water policies.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Past and present @Ofwat board members should be made liable for this. They’re just as much to blame as anyone at @thameswater.
6 March 2024 – Surrey Live: 4500 hours of untreated sewage dumped into River Mole area so far this year.
The River Mole River Watch (RMRW) , which is calling for clean water for the health of wildlife and people, tracks sewage outflows and storm discharges by the utility giant and said that February “saw the highest recorded duration of storm overflows of any month we have been testing so far”.
Feargal Sharkey on X: That’s the equivalent of 187 nonstop days worth of sewage dumping and it’s still only 6th March. Bloody hell!!!
4 March 2024 – @VerValleySoc on X: Locals are wading in sewage! @thameswater’s Markyate sewage works is spilling again into the #RiverVer and onto fields.
Locals are blissfully unaware as they try to clear the fenceline blockage. @EnvAgencySE Here’s the spot the sewage spills onto the meadow with livestock present.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Not content with decimating the rivers Chess and Misbourne @thameswater add a third chalk stream to their wanton list of destruction. Famed for giving the Roman city of Verulamium its name the River Ver was navigated from the Thames. Now a puddle in a field, one full of sewage.
3 March 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: According to the @EnvAgency @Cambswater over abstract local chalk streams to the tune of about 20 million litres of water per day.
[On World Wildlife Day, @Cambswater sing the praises of their chalk streams. but …] Not a single chalk stream in their service area is in ‘Good’ ecological condition. So much for kingfishers and water voles eh.
2 March 2024 – The Observer: WWF shelved report exposing River Wye pollution ‘to keep Tesco happy’.
The wildlife charity allegedly dropped a study highlighting farm pollution linked to the supply chain of its former supermarket partner. Since 2018, the charity has received more than £6m in donations from the supermarket chain Tesco, which has faced action from campaigners over the decline of the Wye because many of the intensive poultry farms in the river’s catchment area are in its supply chain.
3 March 2024 – iNews: Sewage dumped into Surrey river for over 4,700 hours in 2024 so far.
The River Mole catchment could be on track to record an exceptionally high volume of sewage spills this year, data suggest. Untreated waste was dumped into the river’s catchment area from various outfall pipes for a total of 2,116 hours in January and 2,652 hours in February, following analysis of the water firm’s data by River Mole River Watch.
2 March 2024 – iNews: Thames Water discharges raw sewage at least 80 times in one day.
Untreated sewage is allowed to be discharged as part of “storm discharge” comes after exceptional rainfall and comes forecasters warned of snow showers and possible flooding for parts of the UK.
1 March 2024 – James Wallace CEO @RiverActionUK: Leadership from a water co CEO?
Respect to @wessexwater for hosting @Ofwat @EnvAgency investors suppliers & asking me to give em both barrels BUT no CEOs @thameswater @SouthernWater @SouthWestWater @unitedutilities @AnglianWater @stwater @YorkshireWater @NorthumbrianH2O
1 March 2024 – Andy Snapes FRSA on LinkedIn: England’s water companies paid no corporation tax in 2022-23; yet paid out over £1billion in dividends to shareholders.
In 2021/2022, they paid out £996million in dividends, yet only one water company paid UK corporation tax. Profit shifting to low/no tax offshore jurisdictions is endemic. Directors are incentivised to boost profits by tax dodging. Whilst Ofwat does nothing. Where is the Proceeds of Crime Act in this…….?
2 March 2024 – Re-published.
February 2024 (55 Posts)
29 February2024 – The Guardian: Ofwat accused of cover-up over dinners with water companies.
Calls for inquiry after regulator failed to declare hospitality with those it holds to account over sewage spills. After the private meetings were uncovered, Ofwat reviewed its hospitality logs and revealed that the chair was treated to four dinners costing a total of £240, paid for by Severn Trent Water, South West Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.
28 February 2024 – Oxford Mail: Thames Water sorry for sewage overflow on Oxford street.
A spokesperson for the water company apologised and said they took action as soon as possible. She said: “Our engineers attended on the same day and found the sewer network was operating as normal [sic].
27 February 2024 – FT: Thames Water lobbies for higher bills, dividend payouts and lower fines.
Water company seeks to avoid government bailout as officials make contingency plan for its failure dubbed Project Timber.
@SOSWhitstable on X: Well, funnily enough, we’re lobbying for the exact opposite, plus @thameswater being dissolved.
27 February 2024 – Mail Online: Southern Water is fined £330,000 over raw sewage spill at rural beauty spot that killed more than 2,000 fish – with staff ignoring an alarm about the emergency for FIVE HOURS.
Following the spill in July 2019, the Environment Agency (EA) investigated Southern Water’s Little Bull pumping station which was responsible. At Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Hampshire, District Judge Nicholas Wattam said the large fine should highlight ‘the need to improve regulatory compliance’.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Everything you need to know about @SouthernWater‘s business model right there, it’s totally dependent on breaking the law, polluting for profit.
26 February 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution WASP: Environment Agency growls – but will it bite?
Something major is happening and for once it is good, and it is unfolding in Oxfordshire. In response to an application for 1450 houses and associated buildings to be bolted onto a massive development north of Oxford, the Environment Agency has pointed out in the clearest possible terms that Oxford Sewage Works is operating illegally and has failed to upgrade in the way it was required to and, so the Agency is objecting to the planning on that basis which must, of course, also apply to every other development that will load Oxford’s Sewage Works as of now.
26 February 2024 – The Guardian: British and Irish rivers in desperate state from pollution, report reveals.
Not a single waterway in England or Northern Ireland in good overall health, according to Rivers Trust. More than half – 54% – of rivers in England failed to pass chemical and ecological tests because of pollution from water industry releases of treated and untreated sewage, based on data from the EU-derived water framework directive (WFD) in 2022.
26 February 2024 – FT: Thames Water owners pile group with debt.
Shareholders structured a £500mn cash injection as a loan charging 8% interest.
25 February 2024 – FT: Lack of internal auditors at water companies a ‘significant weakness.
UK regulator Ofwat should ensure all water companies have internal auditors given concerns over the financial stability of several big suppliers, an industry body has said.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Good old @Ofwat water industry regulator has become so hopeless at its job that the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors @CharteredIIA has felt the need to write to them telling them several WCs have “significant weakness”.
24 February 2024 – The Guardian:‘Poisoned by chemicals’: citizen scientists prove River Avon is polluted.
Charity says the decline of invertebrates linked to chemicals in water while Environment Agency said Wiltshire river had not deteriorated. The SmartRivers programme run by the charity WildFish, which surveys freshwater invertebrates, reported “strong declines in relation to chemical pressure” on the River Avon in Wiltshire. It said its data indicated a decline in the condition of the river over the last five years.
24 February 2024 – The Argus: Southern Water vows to stop pumping sewage into Sussex pond by 2030.
Southern Water is releasing screened and diluted but untreated sewage into East Dean Village Pond and further downstream into the River Lavant at Charlton, both near Chichester.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Southern Water, I’d like a copy of the permit you were issued by the @EnvAgency to dump sewage into this village pond.
23 February 2024 – UK Parliament: Pollution in rivers on Lords agenda.
On Thursday 29 February, members of the House of Lords will debate the state of pollution in rivers and the regulation of private water companies. Watch on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.
23 February 2024 – iNews: Water firms allowed to dump sewage into rivers using permits from the 1950s.
An i analysis of permits obtained under Environment Information Requests (EIRs) found that some are lacking basic details such as how much sewage a treatment centre can handle before spilling into England’s waterways. Others do not include limits on pollutants, such as phosphorus, which in high quantities can have a devasting impact on rivers.
22 February 2024 – The Telegraph: Thames Water crisis prompts warning that fines could trigger collapse.
In a letter to Ofwat, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee indicated that the watchdog has been rendered powerless to crack down on misdemeanours because of suppliers’ financial instability. MPs said that the situation at some water companies is now so precarious that a penalty for breaking rules on sewage or leaks would be enough to tip them over the edge.
Feargal Sharkey on X: There we have it. @Ofwat won’t act because it’s afraid to make @thameswater bankrupt. Short version, you the customer, the bill payer, the tax payer are about to be shafted, again
22 February 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Government delays pledge to stop water firms self-reporting their sewage levels.
Decision comes after Steve Barclay told water bosses he would stop companies ‘marking their own homework’. However, Government sources told i that there is no target date for stopping self-monitoring and that it was part of an ongoing process to clamp down on illegal spillages, leading to Labour claims of a u-turn.
22 February 2024 – East Devon Watch: EDDC [East Devon District Council] PASSES SEWAGE MOTION.
East Devon District Council passes ‘vote of no confidence’ in South West Water. Major pipe failures and sewage overflows into the sea have prompted a ‘vote of no confidence’ in South West Water (SWW) by East Devon District Council (EDDC).
14 February 2024 (catching up!) – @WindrushWasp on X: New CEO – Passing the buck.
On 12 January we wrote to ask the new Thames Water CEO, Chris Weston about Thames Water polluting our drinking water supply but mainly to establish whether he intended to keep breaking the law in the same way his predecessors had. He chose to pass the buck – (presumably on the advice of the company’s lawyers – funded by the billpayer) to Cathryn Ross who had been doing his job in a temporary role before he moved in. But he authorised it, so we will treat it as if it came from Mr Weston, particularly as the second question was only answerable by him – it was about his personal intent.
21 February 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Rare chalk stream in the South Downs ‘effectively dead’ as sewage pumped into water.
Southern Water has been dumping sewage into the River Lavant, which runs from the village of East Dean in West Sussex to Chichester, due to capacity issues within its sewage network.
20 February 2024 – Kent and Surrey Bylines: Water pollution: Whitstable stages protest against water companies.
A montage of statues has been put on show in Whitstable to remind people of the campaign against water pollution. Just as the environment secretary, Steve Barclay, announces a consultation by the water industries regulator, Ofwat, on bonuses of water company bosses if their companies criminally pollute rivers and beaches, the clean water pressure group ‘Save Our Seas (SOS) Whitstable’ have partnered with a world-renowned artist to create a statue montage to remind people what they are fighting for.
20 February 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Joe Lycett vs Sewage: Channel 4 stunt cuts through the water companies’ crap.
The comedian’s takedown was an unfailingly entertaining and informative summary of the shit we’re in. The solution appears simple enough, albeit requiring the political will – enforce regulations and invest in infrastructure instead of paying billions to shareholders.
19 February 2024 – @WATERSHED_i on X: The volume of PFOS in the Mersey – also a banned forever chemical – is third highest in the world.
Studies @LJMU found 50% of PFOS is discharged from wastewater treatment plants – not just in untreated sewage but in treated, supposedly clean, effluent.
19 February 2024 – The Mirror: Severn Trent Water fined 0.39% of profits for pouring 240million litres of raw sewage into river.
The £2million fine is the equivalent of just 0.39% of Severn Trent Water’s profit before tax for the most recent year – and comes after it poured millions of litres of raw sewage into a river.
@SOSWhitstable on X: Severn Trent pour enough sewage to fill 96 Olympic swimming pools into a river and are fined less than half a percent of their profits. This is not a deterrent.
19 February 2024 – iNews: Church could drop £30m water firm stake over ‘deep concern’ at sewage crisis.
After Joe Lycett’s TV investigation, Church of England pension board may dump its water conmpany shares unless leaks are tackled. The Church Pensions Board, which is committed to “responsible and ethical investment”, said it was “deeply concerned” at reports that water companies were prioritising dividend payments over vital work to tackle sewage.
Ed: WATCH JOE LYCETT TONIGHT ON CHANNEL 4.
18 February 2024 – iNews: Raw sewage dumped into River Thames and South Coast beaches after heavy rainfall.
On the Isle of Wight, 12 out of 14 beaches were hit with pollution warnings after water companies discharged sewage overflow into UK watercourses. An additional 25 locations were used to dump sewage in the last 48 hours, according to the provider’s data.
17 February 2024 – National World: Water bills: Boycott growing in UK as more people refuse to pay sewage element of water rates over ‘appalling pollution’.
Across the UK people have stopped paying the sewage element of their water bills in protest against the amount of raw waste that is being poured into rivers and seas. One woman, Caz Dennett, from Weymouth in Dorset is refusing to pay sewerage charges from Wessex Water because of its “poor performance and appalling pollution record.”
17 February 2024 – The Times: ‘South West Water tried to gag me for suing over sewage’.
Residents, swimmers and anglers who claim pollution is stopping them from accessing waterways are being offered settlements — with non-disclosure agreements.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Yep in an attempt to shut up local protesters SWW is trying to buy them off by offering money in exchange for silence.
17 February 2024 – The Guardian: Everything you wish you never needed to know about sewage fungus.
“The smelly, nasty bacteria that spells bad news for rivers is flourishing in the UK. Here is how to spot it and what it means. Sewage fungus can reduce oxygen levels … smother fish eggs …. Mass fish deaths …”
15 February 2024 – The Times: No sign of river clean-up fund after 15 months,
The government promised that money from fined polluters would be redirected to restoration projects.
Feargal Sharkey on X: “The fund does not exist, there is no timetable for its establishment”, “steering groups to establish it have not yet even met”.
15 February 2024 – Politics Home: Environment Watchdog Has Financial Interest In Companies It Regulates.
The Environment Agency’s pension fund has invested £5.05m in shares of private water companies or their parent firms, making it a part owner of some of the very companies it regulates. The findings have sparked warnings of a potential conflict of interest, as it means that the regulator’s own pension pot’s finances were reliant on the profitability and ongoing high dividends of the companies it regulates.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Hard to believe, even after all of the public anger, outcry, the protests, the petitions.
14 February 2024 – IMDb News: Joe Lycett vs Sewage Airs February 20 2024 on Channel 4.
Get ready for an eye-opening and comedic investigative journey with “Joe Lycett vs Sewage,” airing on Channel 4 at 9:00 Pm on Tuesday, February 20th. In this thought-provoking special, comedian Joe Lycett delves into the staggering amounts of untreated sewage discharged into our waterways daily.
14 February 2024 – @WATERSHED_i on X: Cancer-causing chemicals are contaminating the UK’s rivers & seas.
Our new film TOXIC for @TheENDSReport exposes pollution hotspots, reveals polluters & asks why this is being allowed to happen. Watch for free on 19/2 https://endsreport.com/toxic.
13 February 2024 – The Guardian: Legal challenge over plans to relax sewage laws for housebuilders in England.
Campaigners accuse government of ‘back door’ amendment to bring in pollution rule change that was defeated in Lords. The campaign group Wild Justice, along with the law firm Leigh Day, have submitted plans for a judicial review over what they term an “unlawful attempt to use guidance to introduce a change that was defeated in the House of Lords last year”.
13 February 2024 – The Guardian: Ofwat’s scheme to fine poorly performing companies ‘a gimmick’.
Lib Dems dismiss plan saying water fines need to go to consumers rather than to the Treasury. On Monday, Ofwat unveiled sanctions for water companies that do not provide good communication and help to those who face problems such as having no running water. The new rules on customer service could allow the regulator to impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s turnover. These fines go back to the Treasury rather than to reduce bills for consumers.
11 February 2024 – @SOSWhitstable on X: We’re thrilled to reveal the ‘Sirens of Sewage’ a new art installation in Whitstable by the amazing @JasondeCairesT.
It celebrates the national network of volunteers fighting for our water, including two members of @SOSWhitstable, Robin and Rose.
12 February 2024 – BBC News: Ban water bosses’ bonuses now over sewage spills, say campaigners.
Water company executives should immediately lose their bonuses if the firm they run causes environmental damage, such as illegal sewage spills into rivers, campaigners say. Regulator Ofwat is to consult later this year on whether plans to ban bonuses could be introduced. Environment secretary Stephen Barclay said it was time water company bosses “took responsibility”.
10 February 2024 – @Chilternstreams: The Misbourne is in a terrible state! Due to groundwater infiltration into the sewer network.
@ThamesWater has been pumping screened sewage into the river nr. Amersham since 3rd January. @EnvAgency have confirmed this is now a Category 1 incident due to groundwater contamination.
Feargal Sharkey on X: So since 3rd Jan @thameswater have been pumping sewage into a chalk stream and their network is leaking so badly @AffinityWater shutdown a borehole because groundwater is now also contaminated.
9 February 2024 – iNews: Revealed: The hidden sewage spills damaging our national parks and beauty spots.
An investigation has revealed the location of almost 7,000 ’emergency overflows’ used by water companies to dump sewage, the majority of which are not being monitored by regulators. It found that 890 of these pipes, which are different from the storm overflows water companies use during bad weather, are located in protected areas, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, like the Lake District and the New Forest.
9 February 2024 – The Telegraph: Sewage spills 15 times worse this month than whole of last February.
More than 500 incidents of sewage being released into the sea recorded so far. This compares to just 36 reported by the charity [Surfers Against Sewage] for the whole of February last year.
Feargal Sharkey on X: It’s only the 10th. Yet according to the @GOVUK, @EnvAgency and @WaterUK things are really improving.
10 February 2024 – iNews: Raw sewage pumped into sea at Poole, Hastings and Isle of Wight after downpours.
Untreated sewage was dumped into the waters around Hastings, Poole, and the Isle of Wight following the downpours across the UK, Surfers Against Sewage data show. The most affected area was the Isle of Wight, with the largest number of discharges recorded in Colwell Bay (18), Totland Bay (17) and Cowes (12). East Sussex saw the largest number of discharges in Pelham Beach (14), St Leonards (14) and Saltdean (10).
8 February 2024 – iNews: Whitstable Bay sewage sparks ‘debilitating’ health issues for swimmers.
Sewage discharges off Whitstable on the Kent coast have caused “debilitating” health issues for local swimmers. Cathy Bradley, 67, told i she moved to the town to swim in the sea and improve her mental and physical health. But after unknowingly swimming during a sewage outpour, Ms Bradley and her husband suffered recurring stomach issues.
8 February 2024 – iNews: Ms Bateman vs South West Water: Swimmer suing over sewage says, ‘I won’t settle’.
Exmouth’s Jo Bateman is set for a showdown with water bosses after being invited to a meeting with a director. A sea swimmer is set for a showdown with South West Water (SWW) bosses after taking the company to court over sewage spills on the Devon coast. Jo Bateman, who is claiming compensation for sewage spills that prevented her taking her daily sea swims, has been invited by an SWW director to meet with her and an “operational colleague” ahead of the court case.
Ed: Read the whole article. This lady will NOT give in!
7 February 2024 – ITV News: Thames Water described as a ‘disaster of a water company’ by MPs over sewage spill.
Thames Water – the country’s biggest water supplier – has been described as a “disaster of a water company” by MPs during a debate about its performance. The comments came as Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran described the company’s “shoddy performance” after it dumped sewage over thousands of hours last year. She called for the supplier to become a public interest company which would force it to put its customers before profits and clean up its act to protect waterways. Ms Moran said: “Across the network, Thames Water spilled sewage for 6,500 hours in the last nine months of 2023.
7 February 2024 – Sky News: ‘An appalling scandal’: Government taken to court over chicken poo in River Wye.
One person who has been swimming in the Wye for decades said she started noticing a decline in water quality six years ago – when her eyes and throat would “burn” after being in the river. But the area has seen rapid expansion of poultry production in recent years, with 20 million birds being raised at any one time. Campaign group River Action accuses the government’s Environment Agency of failing to enforce laws designed to protect waterways from agricultural activity.
7 February 2024 – BBC News: Government in court over chicken poo in River Wye.
Campaigners are taking the Environment Agency to court, accusing it of not stopping chicken manure polluting the River Wye. The charity River Action, who brought the case, says laws to keep waterways healthy have not been enforced. The Wye last year had its status downgraded to “unfavourable”, and the rapid expansion of chicken farming in the catchment area was partly blamed.
30 January 2024 – Water Europe: A new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive paves the way towards a circular, green, and smart water management.
Last week, the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the recast of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. After 30 years, this new legislation aims to adapt wastewater management in Europe to the current challenges. In particular, this agreement includes:
- Application of secondary treatment to urban wastewater, before it is discharged into the environment, to all agglomerations of 1.000 p.e. or more by 2035.
- Application of tertiary treatment in all plants covering 150.000 p.e.e and above by 2039 and plants covering 10.000 p.e. and above by 2045.
- Mandatory application of quaternary treatment for all plants of over 10.000 p.e. by 2045.
- Unlocking the potential of water reuse particularly in water-stressed areas.
- Improving the monitoring of Contaminants of emerging concerns, microplastics, including PFAS.
- A better implementation of the polluter pays principle with the extended producer responsibility in which the cosmetic and medical sectors will contribute at least to 80% of the cost for the quaternary treatment
- Paving the way for an emissions reduction by having 100% renewable energy used by treatment plants by 2045.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Oh look, the Europeans are going to make their sewage legislation even tougher, more impactful, more effective. Meanwhile here in the UK?
5 February 2024 – iNews: Stop flushing toilet to prevent sewage spills, says South Downs Tory MP.
According to a leaflet Flick Drummond sent to her Meon Valley constituents, which i has seen, people “need to be more sensible” with their water use during storms “to help with the capacity in our sewers”.
Ed: See our first post 29 January 2024.
6 February 2024 – East Anglia Bylines: Thérèse Coffey in collusion claim over poor Deben water quality.
Thérèse Coffey met Woodbridge water quality protestors last August. Yet three weeks earlier she was already planning to disregard their views. Evidence produced by Channel 4 News shows how, at the same time then environment secretary Thérèse Coffey was promising improvements in water quality of the River Deben in Suffolk, she was colluding with the Environment Agency to mislead the public as to progress.
4 February 2024 – BBC News: Villagers unimpressed despite crunch sewage meeting.
People in Hickling, Norfolk, have complained of untreated effluent rising into their gardens, toilets and sinks. Anglian Water, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Internal Drainage Board attended the meeting and committed to carrying out a review of the issue. Steve Adkins, whose home has been affected, said: “All I can see is deflection and budget constraints.”
Ed: See also our 31 January 2024 post.
4 February 2024 – iNews: ‘I won’t pay my water bill until companies clean up their act on sewage’.
Author Julie Wassmer is one of a growing number of people boycotting their water bills in protest of sewage spills. She added: “It will be a legal argument that goes to the heart of the issue regarding companies’ insistence that we have a statutory obligation to pay for unsatisfactory services. I believe that this can and will be disputed.”
1 February 2024: Farrukh @implausibleblog: The Conservative party and the regulator colluding to hide the extent of raw sewage being dumped in our rivers and sea.
Cathy Newman #C4news, “Almost twice as many bathing waters would fail pollution tests, if the regulator wasn’t allowed to legally disregard some of the results”.
3 February 2024 – BBC News: Water bills to rise above inflation in April.
The average annual water and sewerage bill is expected to rise by 6% in England and Wales, up £27 to £473, says suppliers’ trade body Water UK. Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said: … “If water companies are serious about rebuilding trust in the sector they should use some of their profits to help people who cannot afford another bill rise.”
1 February 2024 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution WASP: Environment Agency – truth or more lies?
The Environment Agency is a taxpayer-funded public body that should be an effective environmental regulator and protector of our waters from sea to river, lake, stream and spring.
Ed: WASP sends an open letter to Philip Duffy CEO of the Environment Agency to correct erroneous video on storm overflows.
2 February 2024 – The Daily Mash: Pay up or the turds start coming out of the taps, say water companies.
WATER companies have told customers they can either pay higher bills or start enjoying excrement coming out of their taps. Having run out of cheap places to pump your waste, water companies have given you the choice of paying substantially more or being automatically signed up to their new ‘turds-out-of-taps’ scheme.
Ed: Probably a spoof but …
1 February 2024 – The Guardian: Revealed: watchdogs and water bosses had dinner at private London club to discuss future.
Meal attended by Environment Agency and Ofwat chairs attacked as outrageous example of ‘regulatory capture’. Water company bosses and the chairs of the regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency went for dinner at an exclusive private members’ club to discuss how to quell public anger over bill rises and sewage spills.
January 2024 (53 posts)
31 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: @RiverActionUK are taking @DefraGovUK and @EnvAgency to court for failing to protect the River Wye.
We’re going to be holding a protest outside the court, Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, 2 Park St, Cardiff CF10 1ET [Wednesday 7 February] 9:00am. See you there.
31 January 2024 – iNews Save Britain’s Rivers: Swimmer suing over sewage could inspire new ‘Post Office’-style TV drama.
Exmouth’s Jo Bateman is being backed by campaigner Feargal Sharkey and a TV producer hopes to put her fight on screen. Following the success of ITV’s Post Office drama, i has learnt that a Bafta-winning TV producer is keen to discuss the possibility of a TV show with Jo Bateman.
31 January 2024 – The ENDS Report: EA admits it hasn’t been checking sewage permits ‘as frequently as it should’.
The Environment Agency (EA) has been unable to inspect and audit wastewater permits “as frequently as [it] should” due to cost constraints, it said in a consultation on proposed fee hikes for water quality permits.
Ed: The ENDS Report is the UK’s No 1 source of intelligence for environmental professionals, delivering news, analysis and reference across the carbon, environmental and sustainability agenda..
29 January 2024 – Mark Pack (LibDems): Conservative Party: please don’t flush your toilet when it’s stormy.
The Conservatives have been getting a lot of flack over the dumping of sewage in our rivers and on our beaches. But this is quite something as an answer to the problem, from a Conservative leaflet in Winchester: “It would help if people did not discharge wastewater such as baths, flushing loos even using machines during heavy downpours”.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Apparently this madness actually is real. An election leaflet from local MP Mrs Flick Drummond.
31 January 2024 – iNews: The village on the Norfolk Broads where sewage flows in the streets.
Residents of a village have been unable to use their toilets, washing machine and shower due to the threat of sewage backing up. Residents in Hickling, a small village 20 miles north-east of Norwich within the Broads National Park, have been forced to buy pumps and sandbags to prevent sewage from reaching their homes.
30 January 2024 – iNews: Ms Bateman vs South West Water: Swimmer suing over sewage leaks at Devon coast.
Jo Bateman, who tries to swim in the sea every day, is refusing to pay the sewage element of her water bill and said she is prepared to go to prison over it. Retired NHS physiotherapist Jo Bateman has submitted an action to the Small Claims Court alleging that illegal sewage spills into the sea at her local beach in Exmouth, Devon, have affected both her physical and mental wellbeing. In her claim, Ms Bateman details 54 instances when she believes South West Water illegally dumped sewage into the sea during 2023.
28 January 2024 – The Telegraph: Thames Water faces sink or swim moment as debt crisis deepens.
Investors are dumping the utility giant’s debt while it has been busy dumping sewage.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Oh dear @thameswater back in the financial sh*t again. One of their bonds, worth 87p in the £ just 6 months ago is now trading at 40p. Even their debt has become toxic.
28 January 2024 – @PJennings88 on X: Told by @YorkshireWater that sewage detritus would be cleared yesterday. If it was it’s back this morning.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Would that be the same @YorkshireWater who ‘loaned’ almost £940,000,000 to their owner in Hong Kong and somehow had forgotten to tell regulator about it? Of course it would.
26 January 2024 – BBC News: Watchdog criticised over sewage spill permit.
The Save Windermere group said an Environment Agency (EA) permit for a waste water treatment works near Cunsey Beck in the Lake District had omissions and was not sufficiently stringent. Matt Staniek from the group said the law was clear and “needs to be enforced”.
Feargal Sharkey on X: And that my friends forms the basis of @RiverActionUK‘s legal case, the EA simply not doing their job.
See you in Cardiff, Wed 7TH Feb 2024, 2 Park St, Cardiff CF10 1ET 9:00am.
Ed: EA in the dock for not protecting the River Wye.
26 January 2024 – iNews: The national parks blighted by convoys of sewage tankers.
Sewage tankers have started to descend on one village in the Lake District ‘every time it rains’, according to locals. Residents of villages in the New Forest and Lake District said sewage tankers have become a regular presence on their streets, bringing noise and pollution to previously quaint hamlets.
25 January 2024 – Mail Online: Fury as water firm begins pumping wastewater into one of Britain’s most celebrated river that is famed for its salmon and trout fishing.
Furious residents living on the banks of the Test chalk stream in Hampshire have said planned pumping works from Southern Water could introduce ‘an Olympic swimming pool’ of sewage into the river every day. The Test in Hampshire, one of around 200 chalk streams in the world, is famed for its salmon and trout fishing and its diverse wildlife.
Ed: I worked as a hydrologist for Southern Water before it was privatised and we kept the River Test free from pollution.
20 January 2024 – @WindrushWasp on X: Water company bosses are deliberately operating #sewage sites outside the law.
None have been taken to court. Who is protecting them and why?
Feargal Sharkey on X: Last year the High Court ruled that in 2022 60% of all sewage dumping was caused by lack of investment (capacity) with a further 18% happening due to lack of maintenance. Here’s the reality of that looks like @thameswater‘s Standlake sewage works.
25 January 2024 – Metro: Stream turns bright red and no one knows why.
A stream in Birmingham has turned bright red and everyone’s scratching their head over it. The strange occurrence was spotted at Perry Common Meadows in Birmingham yesterday morning by a member of the public. Environment investigators at Birmingham City Council have now launched an investigation into the matter.
24 January 2024 – The Times: Thames Water spilt more sewage into rivers than year before.
Thames Water spilt more sewage into rivers than year before. London spills increased more than fourfold last year,
Feargal Sharkey on X: o despite all the snivelling apologies, the insincerities, the sorry, sorry, sorries. Everything you need to know right there.
23 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Ah the old reset the meter and hope that no one notices trick.
Couple of days ago @thameswater had been dumping sewage into the River Coln non stop from 3/12/23 almost 1079 hours. Bingo reset the meter, this morning they’ll tell you it’s only been dumping for 47 hours. Ho hum.
23 January 2024 – The Guardian: Huge loss of invertebrates detected in stream feeding into Windermere.
Campaigners say 76% decline in riverfly species’ abundance at Cunsey Beck is being caused by sewage discharges. Save Windermere and WildFish carried out testing for invertebrates in Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), in order to assess the impact on its freshwater ecology of the Near Sawrey wastewater treatment works, owned and operated by United Utilities.
18 January 2024 – BBC News: Multi-million pound boost to protect Wiltshire waterways.
A sewage treatment facility in south Wiltshire will be upgraded this year to improve water quality. Wessex Water is investing more than £3m to reduce chemicals entering the tributary of the River Stour, near Mere.
21 January 2024 – iNews: Would Labour’s plan to put water bosses in the dock over sewage dumps work?
In an exclusive interview, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary tells i the party will pursue water bosses in court if elected. Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed accused water firms of “corruption” for the damage caused to the UK’s waterways and said Labour would go after executives personally with criminal sanctions if they continue to allow “toxic” discharges to pollute the country’s rivers and seas.
21 January 2024 – The Observer: Tide of disapproval awaits new round of UK water companies’ price rises.
News of the increases, due by the end of the month, comes amid rising anger over companies’ environmental records. Water companies are preparing to announce a significant increase in bills for customers, despite a torrent of criticism of their environmental records.
17 January 2024 – National World: Water bills: Boycott growing in UK as more people refuse to pay sewage element of water rates over ‘appalling pollution’.
A boycott is growing in the UK as more people are not paying the sewage element of their bills as they are “furious” about the “appalling pollution”. Across the UK people have stopped paying the sewage element of their water bills in protest against the amount of raw waste that is being poured into rivers and seas.
20 January 2024 – iNews: Special delivery: the towns being sent Britain’s sewage.
A number of recent pollution incidents involving a large number of sewage trucks has raised questions of the state of Britain’s sewage system. Towns in England with crumbling water infrastructure are being “besieged” by hundreds of trucks full of sewage, i has been told. Water firms in both the north and south of the country are resorting to deploying tankers to transport sewage when there are burst sewers or treatment plant failures.
19 January 2024 – Yorkshire Bylines: River Wharfe: a living artery.
A unique film project, on the River Wharfe, from filmmaker Mark Barrow, acts as call to action on river health and climate change. In an ambitious undertaking, filmmaker Mark Barrow has embarked on a remarkable project to film the entire length of the River Wharfe underwater, by drone and from the riverbank. Mark Barrow’s venture aims to shed light on the river’s vital importance, the challenges it faces and the urgent need for restoration efforts to bring its health back to 100%.
17 January 2024 – BBC News: Sewage pumped into Cotswold river for more than 1,000 hours.
The sewage works at Fairford, Gloucestershire, pumps raw sewage into the River Coln when it cannot cope with the volume of water reaching it. “You just don’t want to be wading around in someone else’s sewage,” said Ashley Smith, a campaigner. Thames Water insisted that discharging untreated sewage was the only way to stop sewage flooding people’s homes.
@WindrushWasp on X: Thames Water promised to upgrade Fairford Sewage Works by 2025.
Now they say by 2030 and the work they plan will still not stop this ILLEGAL pollution. When will Directors be held accountable for the crimes they decide will be commited?
15 January 2024 – iNews: Anglian Water spills sewage for two weeks straight into rare chalk stream.
Sewage has spilled for two weeks straight from a manhole cover into a rare chalk stream in Norfolk, campaigners have claimed. Images show human waste and lavatory paper littering the banks of the River Gaywood, a chalk stream that runs through the Norfolk countryside to join the Great Ouse in King’s Lynn.
Feargal Sharkey on X: Dumping sewage because groundwater seeps into your badly maintained, underinvested, creaky old network of pipes is illegal, ILLEGAL!
15 January 2024 – Financial Times: UK watchdog accuses South West Water of failing to be honest over drought projections.
Environment Agency says utility risked severe shortages in 2022 through ‘complacency’ and ‘lack of understanding’, In a damning email sent in July to regulator Ofwat last year — and obtained through a freedom of information request by Greenpeace — the Environment Agency said the water company had not been “honest, open and transparent with regulators about their drought projections and potential risks to security of supply” in the summer of 2022.
14 January 2024 – BBC News: Darlington: Old sewage system ‘will not cope with new houses’.
A 1930s sewage system will not cope with plans to build 10,000 new homes in Darlington, it has been claimed. Darlington Borough Council plans to build the homes over the next 12 years to “invest” in the town’s growth. However, there are concerns that the sewage system will not be able to cope with a growing population.
13 January 2024: BBC News: Campaigners gather on beach in sewage protest.
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) organised the demonstration at Kingston Beach, near Shoreham. The organisation said it wanted “Southern Water to end dumping sewage in our waters here”.
13 January 2024 – @WindrushWasp on X: Water, water everywhere, but not in Farmoor reservoir. Why?
Is illegal sewage dumping compromising Oxfordshire’s water supply?
12 January 2024 – The News Portsmouth: Southern Water sewage discharge: storm overflow released sewage into Langstone Harbour for nearly 200 hours.
The overflow from Cosham started on Thursday, January 4 and and stopped on Friday, January 12 with sewage being discharged near to Farlington Marshes Nature Reserve. Southern Water, via their overflow tracker, have logged the release as lasting for 191 hours. They have blamed the issue on groundwater levels which have been exacerbated by the recent heavy rainfall.
10 January 2024 – The Guardian: Eton mess: start of school term delayed as flooding causes toilets to back up.
Problems with Thames Water-run sewers from recent rains force pupils at £46,000-a-year school to learn remotely. Eton college has been forced to delay the start of school term after the toilets in its boarding houses backed up because of flooding in the Thames Water sewers caused by recent heavy rains.
10 January 2024 – The Guardian: How could England’s water system be fixed?
After decades of underinvestment, the debt-ridden, polluting industry is in crisis. Experts share their views on how to reverse the tide. A debt-ridden, leaking, polluting industry, owned largely by foreign investment firms, private equity and pension funds who have presided over decades of underinvestment most shockingly illustrated by the scale of raw sewage dumping into rivers: that is the privatised English water industry in 2024.
10 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: There we have it folks.
Despite all of the rhetoric, all of the grandstanding, the vacuous pronouncements, the greenwashing, it all amounts to nought, nothing, zero, zip, it’s bullish*t. Who’d have guessed? And the @EnvAgencyAnglia and @AnglianWater do what exactly? NOTHING!!
10 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Your Wednesday morning @thameswater sewage dumping update.
The Fairford sewage overflow has been dumping sh*t into the River Coln, Gloucestershire for the last 908 hours 11 mins. That’s nonstop since 3rd December last year.
Ed: This is my home town and high groundwater is flowing into leaky sewers which Thames Water have not fixed.
10 January 2024 – The Guardian: Conservative ‘failures’ have led to more sewage pollution, say water experts.
Increased flooding blamed on years of government delays over ‘sponge cities’ rules. Increased sewage pollution, urban flooding and water supply interruptions are the result of a decade of failures by the Conservative ministers, according to water experts who are demanding an independent inquiry into water be set up by the next government.
Ed: How does this square with Dr Hudson’s assertion below?
9 January 2024 – Neil Hudson MP: Dr Neil Hudson MP: 2024 is the year we turn the tide on immoral sewage discharges into our waterways.
With unlimited fines for polluters, 100% storm overflow monitoring and robust intervention by the Environment Secretary on accelerating water company action, Dr Neil Hudson MP heralds 2024 as a new chapter in the story of our waterways.
Ed: Dr Hudson is Conservative MP for Penrith and the Border and member of the EFRA Select Committee. The proof will be in the pudding!
9 January 2024 – ITV News: Newbury woman faces ‘stressful’ start to the year after sewage water floods garden.
Ms Ling said: “My front garden is now covered in sewage and the majority of the back garden is now ruined. I’ve got my decking, patio, hot tub and garden furniture all sitting in contaminated water.. [Thames Water said;] “We are sorry to residents for any distress the flooding may have caused and would like to assure them clean ups of the affected areas are being arranged over the coming days as water levels recede.”
7 January 2024 – iNews: Storm Henk brings Thames Water’s worst day of sewage spills since records began.
Thames Water released sewage from over 350 locations during Storm Henk and experts warn it is happening ‘across the country. Thames Water has apologised for the discharges, which it said were made worse as the storm “came at a time when the ground was already saturated from a long period of wet weather”.
5 January 2024 – @HaggisUK on X; Feargal Sharkey: “If your house is flooded, you can pretty much take as a definite, it is now contaminated with sewage… it will be polluted by the contaminants being released by that sewage…”
5 January 2024 – iNews: Water firm drives 240 truckloads of sewage a day through town ‘to pump into sea.
Some 18,000 and 10,000 litre tankers full of sewage are being transported through the East Devon tourist town of Exmouth. South West Water has been accused of dumping millions of litres of raw sewage into a popular Devon beach resort after sending 240 tankers a day to an overflowing pumping station.
4 January 2024 – iNews Save Britains Rivers: Sewage discharged into sea at hundreds of south coast beaches after Storm Henk.
Britain’s ‘creaky’ sewers are struggling to cope with the ongoing heavy rain battering the country this winter. Coastal waters off popular tourist spots including Hove, Folkestone and Newquay were among those affected as Britain’s sewers struggled to cope with continued heavy rain.
3 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Oh dear!
Barry Matthews, lawyer at @SouthWestWater thinks your tiny, inadequate little brain won’t be able to comprehend the finer points of sewage dumping and therefore the public shouldn’t be allowed to see the data. Pretty typical attitude throughout the industry actually.
3 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Good God, well there we have it.
If the @EnvAgency had any shred of credibility left it’s just blew it, right there. @SouthernWater awarded green status by the EA.
@SOSWhitstable on X: It looks as though @SouthernWater have DELETED their Tweet claiming that they were awarded green status by the @EnvAgency. So is it untrue or was the inevitable backlash just too much?
3 January 2024 – @WindrushWasp on X: We will not see an end to pollution until it becomes unprofitable.
It won’t become unprofitable unless a government or the public makes it so. Will you support that mission? @GoodLawProject @SteveBackshall @BBCCountryfile pic.twitter.com/q6JETKj3E4
3 January 2024 – Feargal Sharkey on X: Chalk aquifer near Luton being polluted.
And another. Yes, you did read that right. @thameswater are dumping sewage into the chalk aquifer near Luton. And if you think that’s appalling here’s the real kicker the @EnvAgency have granted them a permit to do it. Check your drinking water, that’s all I’m going to say.
Ed: The chalk aquifer is the source of many people’s DRINKING WATER!
3 January 2024 – iNews: Swimmers bathed in sewage off Isle of Wight after water firm blunder.
Swimmers participating in a festive dip off the Isle of Wight unwittingly dived into sewage infested waters after a water company IT blunder meant they were not notified of the spill. Hundreds of people participated in Boxing Day swims at several locations on the Isle of Wight as part of an annual tradition to raise money for charity. But those entering the water around Sandown on the east of the island later found sewage had been pumped in for more than five hours on Christmas Day.
2 January 2024 – iNews: The year the ‘appalling state’ of UK rivers became a major public concern.
Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive Craig Bennett tells i that public interest in environment is at the highest level he has seen in nearly 30 years in the sector. 2023 was the year that the “appalling state” of our rivers became a major concern for the public, according to one of Britain’s leading conservationists. Anxiety over the state of UK rivers had been building for a while but it’s only really in the last 12 months or so that it has become a key worry, according to Wildlife Trusts‘ chief executive Craig Bennett.
3 January 2024 – The Times: Debts drive slump in Thames Water.
Utility company’s woes trigger a £591 million writedown for the shareholder Universities Superannuation Scheme.
3 January 2024 – Pete Devery (Clean Water Campaigner, Tidmarsh) on X: No river or stream in a Berkshire borough is deemed a “good” healthy place for plants and wildlife.
The Environment Agency said sewage discharges by Thames Water was a major factor, even TW admit they are “single biggest” polluter. @Thames21.
2 January 2024 – Simon Collins (River Mole River Watch) on X: Horley Sewage Treatment Works overflows into public space.
Here is the scandal of untreated sewage overtopping from storm tanks and flowing across paths to form pools of effluent in public open space used for recreation this happens every time the River Mole rises [over] 2.5m ASD at #Horley STW! EA this has impact and is a Cat 2 pollution!
Feargal Sharkey on X: Yet more on the Horley sewage works. Looks like @thameswater have given up any attempt to contain and treat their sewage. … they said. Just let it spread into the surrounding countryside and local housing estates the regulators won’t do anything. And how right they are.
2 January 2024 – We’re back again with all the press coverage of the wanton pollution of our rivers and beaches.
2 January 2024 – BBC News: Anger after sewage transported through town.
A water company has been accused of “wilfully polluting” while using tankers to move sewage to an overflowing pumping station in Devon. But campaigners said the pumping station was already under major pressure before waste was delivered to it.
2 January 2024 – The Times: Water companies break promise on sewage spill maps.
Water companies have reneged on a promise to produce live maps of sewage spills by the end of last year, leading campaigners to warn they are putting public health at risk.
2 January 2024 – @WindrushWasp on X: ‘in a few weeks time, all political parties are going to need a convincing plan to end this scam.
Water companies keep profiting from illegal pollution and the country is waking up to who is letting them do it.
1 January 2024 – The Guardian: Growing proportion of England’s flood defences in disrepair, analysis finds.
Poor state of critical assets in many parts of country leaves thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms. Experts said the picture of disrepair was likely to worsen after higher costs and budget shortfalls forced the Environment Agency to axe a quarter of its new flood defence projects.
December 2023
23 December 2023 – The Guardian: ‘Christmas stink’: UK’s traditional festive swims face rising tide of sewage.
Lib Dem analysis finds 4,574 hours of sewage has been spilled in festive swimming spots in the last year. Long-established Christmas seaside swimming locations have been flooded with sewage over the last year, prompting concern that swimmers could fall ill. A Boxing Day swim leaves participants at risk. An event in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, will expose swimmers to waters in which there have been 67 sewage discharges lasting a total of 405 hours over the last year.
18 December 2023 – East Anglian Bylines: Can a water company be bankrupt?
As is now widely acknowledged, including by the company itself, Thames Water (TW) is facing significant financial difficulties. The company has a £190 million debt to repay in April 2024 and at present is suggesting that it does not have the means to make settlement. This means that the company might be technically insolvent and might need to enter into insolvency administration. The enormous quantity of debt that has been piled upon this company, coupled with the increase in interest charges over the last two years, means that in its current format it is financially unsustainable. But can a water company be bankrupt?
18 December 2023 – The Guardian: Water firms use up to 28% of bill payments to service debt in areas of England.
As English water companies plan to hike bills, the Guardian reveals customers are paying a high price for combined debts of £60bn.
12 December 2023 – SEWAGE WATCH TAKES A FESTIVE BREAK.
WE SHALL NOT BE UPDATING OUR SEWAGE WATCH UNTIL THE NEW YEAR.
BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND US NEWS OF ANY INCIDENTS TO editor@westenglandbylines.co.uk
WE HOPE YOUR RIVERS AND BEACHES STAY CLEAN OVER CHRISTMAS!
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM WEST ENGLAND BYLINES!
5 December 2023 – iNews: Thames Water facing probe over dividend payouts to shareholders amid debt crisis.
Ofwat launches investigation, as firm pays £37.5m in dividends to its holding company in order to finance debt. It comes as the utility firm demanded the right to increase customers’ bills by up to 40 per cent.
5 December 2023 – iNews: Environment watchdog failed to visit 90% of toxic water spills last year.
Freedom of Information data obtained by the charity WildFish, and shared with i, showed there has been a significant drop off in in-person inspections of water pollution since the Covid-19 pandemic.
4 December 2023 – BBC News: Raw sewage ‘cover-up’ at Windermere World Heritage Site.
IF YOU DIDN’T SEE IT, WATCH IT BACK ‘The Water Pollution Cover-up’ 4 December 8pm!
Water companies can make sewage pollution disappear from the official figures, a BBC Panorama investigation has revealed. Leaked records suggest one firm, United Utilities, wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution events, including at a famed English lake in north-west England. The Environment Agency signed off all the downgrades without attending any of the incidents. United Utilities denies misreporting pollution.
4 December 2023 – Liberal Democrats: Lib Dems table new law to compensate sewage sickness victims.
The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill which would provide compensation to those who have suffered illness as a result of sewage in the waterways of England and Wales. The new amendment comes in the wake of government statistics released on Friday, which found a sharp rise in the number of bathing water sites rated as “poor quality.” The Bill comes before Parliament on Monday 4th December.
1 December 2023 – Surrey Heath Borough Council: Council question Thames Water executive following Camberley sewage works incident.
Surrey Heath Borough Council has secured a commitment from Thames Water that an imported sewage incident of the type which blighted many Camberley residents’ summer will never be allowed to happen there again. However, the Council continues to press Thames Water to make a meaningful financial contribution to a community project in the local area by way of compensation. Thames Water imported sewage sludge into their Camberley Sewage Treatment Works earlier this year, holding it in open tanks during one of the hottest summers on record, causing a foul smell severely affecting the local community.
November 2023
27 November 2023 – Sky News: Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m campaign urging public to use less water.
Regulator Ofwat said households could save up to £500 a year by cutting their water use. But critics expressed scepticism and said customers should not be picking up the tab.
@SOSWhitstable on X: The water industry leak 1.06 trillion litres of water per year but @Ofwat are going to spend £100m of our money telling us that we’re the problem.
22 November 2023 – The Argus: Southern Water slammed for ‘tsunami of human waste’ in Sussex sea.
Eastbourne Borough Council said Southern Water, the company providing water and sewage facilities to large swathes of the county, including Eastbourne needs to “urgently improve water quality”. The council criticised the water company for discharging water containing sewage into the sea in Eastbourne for a “staggering” 434 hours last year.
23 November 2023 – The Guardian: Raw sewage discharged into Chichester harbour for over 1,200 hours in a month.
Campaigners say Southern Water outflows into protected wildlife site are an ‘assault on the environment’. The protected harbour in West Sussex, which is a designated area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), has been subjected to the discharges since 24 October.
21 November 2023 – The Guardian: Most inland bathing spots in England have unsafe pollution levels, report finds.
In a survey of a representative sample of popular swimming and water sports locations, 60% were found to have pollution at unsafe levels, the annual report from the campaign group [Surfers Against Sewage] said.
20 November 2023 – BBC News: Wye salmon faces extinction in 6 years – campaigners.
Pollution is threatening Atlantic salmon in the River Wye, campaigners say. The Wye Salmon Association believes they could disappear within six years. It has recorded its lowest ever catch numbers. It wants gene banking, captive breeding and cryogenic preservation. In May, the river’s status was downgraded to “unfavourable declining” by Natural England.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Yet another river system decimated by the three wise monkeys of ecocide, greed, regulatory failure and political indifference.
20 November 2023 – The Guardian: Defra’s failure to protect and restore water bodies ‘unlawful’, high court rules.
The lawyers presented the court with evidence that the Costa Beck is failing for fish under the Water Framework Directive regulations. One of the reasons for that, they argued, is sewage pollution – Yorkshire Water’s “storm” sewage overflow at Pickering treatment works discharged into the Costa Beck more than 250 times in 2020 and more than 400 times in 2019.
17 November 2023 – Cornwall Live: Over 30 Cornwall beaches on sewage pollution alert after bad weather.
According to environmental campaign charity Surfers Against Sewage and its water pollution alerts app, 34 beaches from Bude in north Cornwall to Kingsand in south east Cornwall have been issued with pollution alerts.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Did I mention that @SouthWestWater has to be one of if not the most incompetent WC in the country and believe me there’s some pretty stiff competition.
18 November 2023 – Paul Taylor on Facebook (Fairford): Thames Water data shows the Fairford Sewage Treatment Works has now been discharging untreated sewage into the river for over 500 hours since 28th October!
Their website previously said they planned to upgrade the works by 2025 but now it has been updated to say they plan to complete sometime between 2025 – 2030. Based on this statement we could have 6+ more years of this, assuming it ever gets done.
17 November 2023 – iNews: Welcome to Sewage Island (formerly the Isle of Wight).
Heavy rainfall has brought the Isle of Wight’s sewage problem into sharp focus. i visits the island to meet the locals blighted by waste. Analysis by i has found that since the island was hit with a month’s worth of rain on 25 October, sewage has been dumped into the Gurnard bay from two pipes for a total of 472 hours and 247 hours respectively. Other parts of the island experienced a similar deluge.
17 November 2023 – The Guardian: UK environment secretary took donation from funder of climate sceptic thinktank.
Steve Barclay accepted £3,000 donation from Michael Hintze, a key funder of Global Warming Policy Foundation. The thinktank focuses on questioning policy on the climate crisis, and was set up by the former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson, who has said that climate change is not a threat.
17 November 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: United Utilities set to pay out more in dividends than profits.
So less than 24 hours after discovering @unitedutilities spent up to 70 days illegally dumping sewage into lake Windermere the company announces it is paying shareholders a dividend bigger than the company profits And @Ofwat does what exactly?
15 November 2023 – @SOSWhitstable on X: Sandown, Isle of Wight.
There are two seperate sewage outfalls here and each has been spewing out untreated sewage since the 24th of October. 1054 hours of sewage in 3 weeks. Perhaps local MP @IoWBobSeely would like to intervene and tell @SouthernWater what he thinks?
14 November 2023 – The Guardian: Alarm raised over water firm job of new environment secretary’s wife.
Steve Barclay married to executive at Anglian Water, which is under investigation for potential illegal dumping of raw sewage. Tim Farron, the rural spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said: “Ministers’ spouses do of course have the right to their own careers, but I do worry about the possible conflict of interest here for the man charged with forcing the water companies to clean up their act. We need to make sure the secretary of state is fully committed to doing everything in his power to stop the sewage scandal.”
13 November 2023 – Farmers Guide: Steve Barclay appointed new environment secretary as Coffey quits.
Thérèse Coffey has resigned in the midst of a Cabinet reshuffle, following the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary.
Ed: Updated our cover picture. See also East Anglia Bylines: Sewage minister’s scandal: wife is water company boss.
11 November 2023 – The Guildford Dragon News: Lib Dems Condemn Thames Water Executives’ ‘Shameful’ £2m Pay Packages.
Guildford Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Zöe Franklin is complaining of: “Shameful excesses at the top of Thames Water, while sewage continues to pollute our waterways and crumbling infrastructure once again leaves thousands of local people without water.”
10 November 2023 – Brighton and Hove News: Children face wading through raw sewage on route to school.
Foul water has been filmed pouring out through manhole covers in Winfield Avenue, by Patcham High School, this week. The road is also used by some children going to Patcham Infant School and Patcham Junior School. Parents and residents are urging councillors to take up their complaints with Southern Water and Brighton and Hove City Council.
11 November 2023 – The Observer: ‘Shocking and sad’: photographer’s project reveals wildlife lost to pollution in Yorkshire’s River Wharfe.
Mark Barrow returned to the site of an earlier shoot five years later and found aquatic life devastated by sewage. What he found shocked him. The water was cloudy with pollution and the numbers of grayling, with their distinctive red fins and pewter scales, were reduced to pockets of no more than 30 or 40.
10 November 2023 – @watervole3 tweets: “… summary of volumes of sewage spills is available in my report”.
Downloadable from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GeNORkOtEFyatbmfgXcz5VAN8PcPJqX0/view…
10 November 2023 – The Guardian: Thames Water pumped at least 72bn litres of sewage into Thames since 2020.
Lib Dems call for water companies to be more transparent with their data on sewage spills. Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, has said “Thames Water should be disbanded and replaced by a ‘public good company’ … The government is standing idly by whilst our rivers are poisoned and water firm execs pocket millions.”
Ed: See also The Standard: ‘Environmental crimes’: Thames Water pumps 72bn litres of sewage into Thames since 2020.
And: Teddington Town: RIVER THAMES SEWAGE SHOCK. Mogden near Twickenham … 17.1bn litres of sewage … nature reserve, rare wildlife and areas where people swim and boat.
2 November 2023 – East Anglian Bylines: England’s failed water companies: time to cut the crap.
England’s waterways are badly polluted. The water companies plans to tackle the problem are inadequate. We analysed the evidence, using an accounting methodology known as sustainable cost accounting. This shows that all of England’s water companies are environmentally insolvent. In other words, they are unable to raise the required financial capital to continue in operation and meet the requirement that they deliver clean water to people in England while avoiding pollution of waterways, rivers and beaches from untreated storm overflows. Such is the scale of their deficiency that we suggest that they be nationalised.
8 November 2023 – Daily Mail: Water companies splash out £10 million on bosses’ pay despite outrage over sewage scandal.
United Utilities discharged the most sewage and paid out most base pay.
Severn Trent paid £3.5 million in bonuses to two executives last year.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Your local river might be full of sewage, you might have spent all weekend collecting bottled water from a supermarket carpark but we’re all right Jack so…
8 November 2023 – The Times: UK water bosses took bonuses despite sewage crisis.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “UK water bosses took bonuses despite sewage crisis Ofwat confirms that the heads of five companies accepted bumper pay.” There is someone at @ofwat that actually knows what’s going on isn’t there, isn’t there?
8 November 2023 – The Guardian: Ban bonuses to water company bosses, Ofwat told.
Regulator under pressure to act after finding executive payouts at three English suppliers were not justified. Water suppliers have been repeatedly criticised for paying out large sums to bosses who have presided over leaky infrastructure and dumped sewage in Britain’s waterways.
7 November 2023 – University of Birmingham: ‘Biodiversity time machine’ provides insights into a century of loss.
AI analysis shows pollution levels, extreme weather events and increasing temperatures devastate biodiversity in freshwater lakes. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with Goethe University in Frankfurt, used sediment from the bottom of a lake in Denmark to reconstruct a 100-year-old library of biodiversity, chemical pollution, and climate change levels. This lake has a history of well-documented shifts in water quality, making it a perfect natural experiment for testing the biodiversity time machine.
5 November 2023 – @WindrushWasp on X: Thames Water’s latest victims – its own staff.
Thames Water launches redundancy consultation & seeks to cut up to 300 jobs as it struggles to manage mountains of debt previous owner, Australian firm, Macquarie, saddled the company with, while paying out enormous dividends to shareholders.
6 November 2023 – Oxford Rivers Project: Welcome to the revived Oxford Rivers Project (previously #endsewagepollution mid-Thames) newsletter!
1. What extra information do you want to know about your local river?
2. Bathing water status applications submitted for Wallingford and Henley
3. Thames Water “Your Water, Your Say” meeting, 30th November 2023
4. Get involved: River Action meeting, protect rare wetland plants and more…
5. News round-up
6 November 2023 – @DrAlexFord tweets: Now 13 days non-stop untreated discharges into internationally important marine protected site in Langstone Harbour.
Same for Isle of Wight’s UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Untreated sewage and still ongoing for Southsea Seafront (271 hours) and numerous other CSOs around Portsmouth, Gosport, Chichester and Isle of Wight. It’s the winter season when we offload our domestic chemicals and human pathogens on the environment.
5 November 2023 – BBC News: Man contracts sepsis after paddle in River Kennet.
A man says he was left fighting for his life after having a paddle in the River Kennet. Gordon Pepper, who lives in Wiltshire, was in the sepsis ward at hospital 48 hours after his dip. The water quality of the Kennet has been under scrutiny by campaign groups because of untreated sewage being dumped there.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Did I mention the River Kennet between Hungerford and Newbury has been downgraded to ‘Poor’ ecological status? The Kennet is a chalk stream, 1 of only 225 in the entire world.
1 November 2023 – @RiverActionUK: Thanks to @alextomo @Channel4News for highlighting the “less obvious, sinister effect” of Storm Ciarán.
The massive amount of s**t being discharged into our rivers and beaches from a broken system overwhelmed by high rainfall. Channel 4 video.
1 November 2023 – River Action: Storm Ciarán: Britain’s rivers at risk of saturation from deadly cocktail of pollutants.
CEO of River Action James Wallace says that the last decade and a half has seen a systemic collapse in environmental protection with regulatory agencies defunded and regulations designed to protect rivers from pollution deliberately not enforced.
3 November 2023 2pm – RIBA/SAS: RIBA Cornwall: beach clean and social at National Trust Godrevy.
Join us for a beach clean in Cornwall organised by RIBA South West in conjunction with Surfers Against Sewage and the National Trust at Godrevy, Gwithian, Hayle, TR27 5ED.
1 November 2023 – Wealden District Council: Local authorities continue to put pressure on Southern Water.
The Southern Water Stakeholder Group, initiated and co-ordinated by Wealden District Council and including representatives from more than 24 local authorities from Chichester to Folkestone, is also to write to the Secretary of State for the Environment calling on more resources for the Environment Agency to hold the water company to account.
October 2023
30 October 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Your @ThamesWater sewage dumping report for the morning of Monday 30th Oct 2023.
47 days and counting that’s all I’m saying Acting Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer, 47 days and counting.
20 October 2023 – guildfordwaverleygreen on Instagram: Dame Jennie Jones in the House of Lords.
@greenjjnews – “If the #WaterCompanies pollute, then they should be fined. The consumers shouldn’t pay those #Fines“. The idea that the #Public should pay to fix #SewageDumping and crumbling #Infrastructure – that these companies have allowed just to increase #PrivateProfit for #Shareholders – is clearly nonsense.
28 October 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Thames Water’s prospectus, basically a loan application form, is staggeringly revealing.
Would you lend £15,000,000,000 to a company that is already £21,703,500,000 in debt?
26 October 2023 – The Guardian: Ofwat warns over financial health of four water suppliers in England.
Thames Water and Southern Water among firms urged to take action to secure long-term finances. The water regulator for England and Wales has raised a red flag over the financial health of companies supplying more than 20 million customers in the south-east of England, amid growing public anger over the industry’s record on services and pollution.
Ed: Is it a coincidence that these are the two water companies of which Macquarie was or is a major investor?
26 October 2023 – @SOSWhitstable on X: The Isle of Wight today, the most polluted location in the SE.
8 ongoing sewage releases, ranging between 27 and 60 hours. In Cowes, 3 are happening at once. Why is @IoWBobSeely not publicly berating @SouthernWater for what they’re doing to that beautiful island?
27 October 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “Any increase in bills can only be for new investment not about things that should have been done in the past.” SoS @theresecoffey.
@Ofwat admit it, for 34 years we’ve paid all the money needed to build a properly functioning sewage system. Why are WCs asking us to pay again?
27 October 2023 – The Guardian: England to diverge from EU water monitoring standards.
Campaigners fear less rigorous methods could lead to more pollution in rivers and waterways. While in the EU, England was covered by the water framework directive (WFD), which meant a national chemical and ecological survey of rivers was conducted annually. After Brexit, the WFD was transposed into English law but the government removed the requirement to conduct annual tests.
27 October 2023 – Sky News: Down the drain: What went wrong with Britain’s water system?
If you were going to design Britain’s sewage system from scratch today, the one we have, to put it mildly, isn’t the design you’d pick. But for most of the country, it’s simply too late. Most urban areas have [combined] systems that “bake in” sewage spills pretty much forever.
Ed: However the proportion of our sewerage network which according to Water UK is ‘combined’ is only 25% which is NOT ‘most’.
23 October 2023 – iNews: Cumbria and Cornwall to miss out on clean river bathing spaces following new Defra rules.
Some local river groups are having to withdraw applications for official bathing status after Defra introduced new rules on the number of bathers. Rivers in Cornwall and Cumbria no longer meet the criteria to apply for the status after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) introduced a requirement for a minimum number of swimmers to visit the waterway. It means the rivers will miss out on additional checks to rid them of pollution. Campaigners in Cumbria said the Government change made it “probably impossible for any upland river to achieve bathing status”.
24 October 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: NEWFLASH: Following High Court judgement @WildFishCons has put govt and regulators on notice.
1. WCs not customers should pay to fix the sewage system.
2. @EnvAgency must now review all WC sewage dumping permits.
3. @Ofwat must now enforce “exceptional circumstances” law.
Ed: Link to WildFish announcement.
14 October 2023 – The Guardian: ‘I won’t pay for them to pollute my river’: why a water bills boycott in England is growing.
Angler Mike Deacon is among a growing number of customers refusing to pay water companies as they protest against sewage spillages and contamination.
Ed: ‘Boycott Water Bills’ is a group of individuals who had enough of paying water companies to pollute our waterways and seas – so we stopped paying!
21 October 2023 – @WindrushWasp on X: This beautiful limestone stream in Oxfordshire is being destroyed by water company pollution.
@thameswater and the Environment Agency simply lets them get on with it – again – With sound.
8 October 2023 – Kent and Surrey Bylines: SOS Whitstable: Is public ownership of water the answer?
SOS Whitstable rally against sewage polluting our seas. The author looks at solutions.and asks if public ownership is the right answer?
20 October 2023 – @SOSWhitstable on X: Water companies have submitted business plans for 2025-30 to @Ofwat.
Astonishingly, @SouthernWater have proposed a 66% increase in bills. 26% higher than any other company. It would make their bills the highest in the country. Utterly disgraceful and with no justification.
19 October 2023 – BBC News: Welsh Water admits illegally spilling sewage for years.
Welsh Water has admitted illegally spilling untreated sewage at dozens of treatment plants for years. The admission came after the BBC presented the water company with analysis of its own data. One of their worst performing plants is in Cardigan in west Wales.
18 October 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “UK river littered with plastic and sewage in shocking footage”.
Beneath British Waters – Our Freshwater Planet: Ongoing daily problem at Stanley Ferry on River Calder (Yorkshire).
16 October 2023 – Jason Periera on X: Spill on River Tean in Staffordshire causes dangerous phosphate levels.
8 miles below todays slurry spill on the river Tean, and just before the Tean joins the Dove this is the phosphate reading, phosphate testers max out at 2.50 ppm. All eyes on EA now.
04 October 2023 – British Canoeing: British Canoeing supports the End Sewage Pollution Manifesto.
British Canoeing is part of a coalition united by the ambition to End Sewage Pollution and recover the UK’s rivers, lakes and seas. Chantelle Grundy, British Canoeing’s Access and Environment Lead, said: “The huge public outcry to the sewage scandal has seen the wheels of change begin to turn. Our younger paddlers are at risk of getting sick doing what they love most.”
04 October 2023 – Surfers Against Sewage (SAS): The End Sewage Pollution Manifesto.
Our five point plan for making the UK’s waters healthy and safe again. Enforce the law; Stop pollution for profit; Prioritise high risk pollution; Empower a nature led approach; Reveal the truth.
02 October 2023 – ITV News: United Utilities warns bills will rise to fund scheme tackling pollution and sewage-dumping.
The water provider announced its new five-year plan on Monday 2 October to improve the cleanliness of the North-West’s rivers and seas. The company say the £13.7 billion project, which begins in 2025, will provide more jobs and boost the regions economy. However, United Utilities have warned that bills will rise in order to help fund the scheme.
Ed: Why should our bills rise when investors have creamed off profits for decades?
02 October 2023 – European Parliament: Urban wastewater treatment: Parliament to adopt stricter measures.
The report calls for treated wastewater from urban wastewater treatment plants to be reused more widely to prevent water scarcity. MEPs want chemical pollutants (including “forever chemicals”), microplastics, pathogens and antimicrobial resistance to be monitored more.
Ed: If only our Parliament were so forward thinking.
02 October 2023 – The Guardian: English water firms face backlash over plans to ask customers to pay £96bn to cut leaks.
Householders were told they would pay on average £156 a year more by 2030 to pay for the investment into treatment works, sewage outflows and new reservoirs. But campaigners for clean water said customers should not be paying for infrastructure investment that should have already been carried out to comply with companies’ operational permits – for example on discharging raw sewage or maintaining capacity at treatment works.
Ed: This is in effect paying for 30 years of investors profits.
02 October 2023 – BBC News: Water firms want bill rises to cut leaks and spills.
Water companies in England and Wales want bills to increase by £156 a year by 2030 to pay for upgrades and reduce sewage discharges. However, critics say customers should not be asked to foot the bill, arguing water companies have failed to invest adequately since they were privatised more than 30 years ago, with profits going to shareholders instead. Feargal Sharkey: a “breathtakingly catastrophic strategy”.
September 2023
30 September 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Mythbusters – Water companies are closely monitored.
Water companies were required to monitor their own performance and compliance with their permits in 2010. ‘Operator Self Monitoring’ – like asking motorists to report themselves for speeding? Environment Agency Director John Leyland, talking to Joe Crowley for Panorama in 2021, said: “It’s not my nature to think that people will abuse a system”.
Ed: Is this naïve or irresponsible?
22 September 2023 – University of Oxford: New study finds that sewage release is worse for rivers than agriculture.
Ahead of World Rivers Day (24 September), new research by the University of Oxford reveals that sewage discharge into rivers has a greater impact on water quality, and the animals and plants that live in rivers, than surrounding land use. This has strong implications for the state of UK rivers in light of the recent threats to weaken nutrient neutrality regulations for new housing developments. The findings have been published today in the journals Global Change Biology and Ecological Solutions and Evidence.
24 September 2023 – West England Bylines: WASP: taking the fight to sewage in our waterways.
On 24 September, World Rivers Day. Ashley Smith, of WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution) comments. “You may have noticed that sewage pollution is mainstream now and that pun slips off the keyboard as easily as a CEO slips off the hook for running a water company that appears to build potential illegality into day-to-day working”.
23 September 2023 – Sky News: The UK’s largest lake has turned into ‘a toilet’ – and the ‘disaster is being ‘underplayed’.
Lough Neagh is roughly the size of the Isle of Wight and supplies water to 40% of Northern Ireland’s people. It is a bloom of toxic cyanobacteria known as blue-green algae. On satellite pictures you can clearly see the livid green swathes across miles of the surface. The principle cause is excreta from farms animals, and to a lesser extent humans, leaching into the Lough.
Ed: OK this is Northern Ireland not England or Wales but it’s another example of government neglect.
21 September 2023 – The Guardian: Treated and untreated sewage greatest threat to river biodiversity, says study.
More water company regulations and improvements at treatment plants needed to protect rivers, say authors. The research from the University of Oxford was released on World Rivers Day. No river in England passes tests for chemical or biological pollution, and government targets to improve the water quality in rivers will not be met.
20 September 2023 – Harborough FM [Leicestershire]: CALL FOR WATER FIRMS TO COME CLEAN ON SEWAGE DISCHARGES INTO RIVERS.
The controversial practice to discharge sewage into waterways is permitted in the UK during wet weather, to prevent pipe systems from backing up, although there are calls for water companies to take steps to keep discharges to a minimum. A Motion put forward by councillor Peter James calling for letters to be sent to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Secretary of State responsible, demanding they order the full disclosure of figures and the environmental impact, was backed by councillors at a meeting this week.
19 September 2023 – Defra Press Office: Government response to House of Lords report on the water industry.
… a Defra spokesperson said: “We take our oversight of the water industry incredibly seriously and firmly disagree with these conclusions”.
Ed: This is complete gaslighting. Many ennvironmental groups strongly disagree. Why should our government issue such misleading statements? Read the House of Lords Committee Report here.
19 September 2023 – 38Degrees Petition Rescue our Rivers: Our rivers are in crisis.
Every single river in England is polluted beyond legal limits, and the rest of the UK’s rivers are also in trouble. Our rivers are not fit to swim or play in, our wildlife is fast disappearing and freshwater is becoming more scarce in the face of the climate emergency.19 September 2023 – iNews ‘Save our Rivers’: Water bills will rise to pay for sewage clean up as investors do not want to fund it, House of Lords warns.
A focus on keeping water bills low has driven away investors, but ministers are not taking responsibility for the trade off, says the Industry and Regulators Committee. The Lords’ Industry and Regulators Committee said it expected the cost of cleaning up the water industry to fall on consumers, adding that ministers had not done enough to shield vulnerable households from pri. ce rises.
18 September 2023 – iNews ‘Save our Rivers’: Heavy thunder storms send sewage pouring into Thames and tributaries.
Sewage spills took place overnight, while in Swindon discharges have been ongoing for 10 hours or more. Across the capital, 25 overflows dumped sewage into the River Thames, including two situated just metres from the Houses of Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens. By Monday morning, three were still doing so.
13 September 2023 – @RiverActionUK: BREAKING on #NutrientNeutrality: Cross-party Peers have defeated Government plans to unleash house-building sewage pollution in our rivers.
Thank you @greenjennyjones @natalieben @LabourLordsUK @LibDemLords and all those who made this happen.
13 September 2023 – The Guardian: Environment Agency failing to monitor water firms in England, data suggests.
Watchdog is supposed to audit firms yearly to ensure they are not illegally dumping sewage, but 36% of audits since 2010 are missing. The Environment Agency is failing to regularly audit water companies to check they are telling the truth about pollution and illegal sewage dumping in England, the Guardian can reveal.
13 September 2023 – Feargal Sharkey in iNews: When it comes to dumping sewage, water companies don’t seem to understand the word ‘no’.
An interim judgment by the Office of Environmental Protection will rattle government and regulators alike. No! We all know what that word means. Your parents dutifully instructed you on it as a child; we have all had a lifetime of learning and experience re-enforcing its merits. Unless that is you just happen to be the UK government, Ofwat or the Environment Agency (EA).
12 September 2023 – Mirror: Bonus bonanza for water watchdog staff who fail to stop sewage dump in UK rivers and seas.
Ofwat bigwigs got up to an extra £10,000 each for doing their jobs, but the quango has been branded ‘pointless’ for failing to prevent water companies dumping sewage in rivers. Nearly 300 staff at the water watchdog pocketed bonuses last year despite the state of the nation’s rivers and coastlines.
12 September 2023 – The Guardian: ‘Unacceptable’: how raw sewage has affected rivers in England and Wales – in maps.
Hundreds of thousands of raw sewage discharges were recorded last year. These maps show where these were and what the impact is. More than 384,000 discharges of raw sewage were reported by water companies across England and Wales in 2022, official figures show, in what the Rivers Trust has described as “extremely bad news for environmental and human health”.
12 September 2023 – Office for Environmental Protection (OEP): OEP identifies possible failures to comply with environmental law in relation to regulatory oversight of untreated sewage discharges.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has identified possible failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Ofwat in relation to the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs).
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Following a complaint by @WildFishCons OEP identifies possible failures by @DefraGovUK, @Ofwat & @EnvAgency to comply with sewage environmental laws. All 3 now need to respond to the OEP’s accusations before final judgment.
12 September 2023 – The Guardian: Ministers may have broken law over sewage dumping in England, says watchdog.
Government may be letting firms discharge raw sewage more often than law allows, says Office for Environmental Protection. The findings for the first time point the finger at ministers for not stopping raw sewage discharges into rivers and seas.
10 September 2023 – The Times: Sewage will influence most voters at the next election.
More than half of the public will weigh the government’s handling of sewage spills into how they vote at next year’s election. Polling of 6,000 adults by Survation, a research company, found that discharges into rivers and seas will affect how more than 56 per cent of people vote.
10 September 2023 – SOS Whitstable: Third Annual Protest.
Several special guests will join us in Whitstable on Saturday 23rd September to tell Southern Water that we have had enough of sewage pollution, which continues to negatively impact the north Kent coast. The protest will begin at 3pm on Tankerton Slopes, in front of the white lifeguard hut and just down from the Marine Hotel. Be there for 2:50 to avoid missing the start.
9 September 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Quite an extra ordinary exchange on Thursday between the MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset @IanLG_MP and @PennyMordaunt Leader of the House of Commons. It’s claimed the owners of @SouthWestWater have hired lawyers to “threaten the press and parliamentarians”. Oh dear me.
8 September 2023 – Re-Wild Belfast: Algae and poisonous bacteria in Lough Neagh is so bad that it’s killing birds and mammals.
I have lived close to Lough Neagh for 19 years and I have never seen algae like this before- it’s awful.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: And there is no one in government to do a damned thing about any of it.
5 September 2023 – BBC News: Water firms illegally spilled sewage on dry days – data suggests.
Three major water companies illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times last year on days when it was not raining, a BBC investigation suggests.The practice, known as “dry spilling”, is banned because it can lead to higher concentrations of sewage in waterways. Thames, Wessex and Southern Water appear to have collectively released sewage in dry spills for 3,500 hours in 2022 – in breach of their permits.
1 September 2023 – The Guardian: Ex-environment secretary to take role at UK waste firm fined for polluting water.
George Eustice given consultancy job with Augean, which had to pay £36,000 after groundwater contaminated.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: You just wait to see what happens over the next 12 months, rats, ship.
Ed: Does the company ‘Augean’ realise that the Augean Stables were the filthiest in Ancient Greece!
1 September 2023 – 38Degrees: Anti-Sewage Alliance Petition launched.
Want to join a growing group of passionate people, who are determined to stop sewage pollution for good? Click “I’m in”.
30 August 2023 – @RSPBEngland: LIARS!
@RishiSunak @michaelgove @theresecoffey you said you wouldn’t weaken environmental protections. And yet that’s just what you are doing. You lie, and you lie, and you lie again. And we’ve had enough.
22 August 2023 – Change.Org Petition: Change the way rivers are managed, a single point of responsibility from source to estuary.
To: The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and 1 other.
Philip Yorke says: “We need a completely different value system for managing water. I am proposing that the government fundamentally rethink how water is managed”.
August 2023 Sewage Watch
28 August 2023 – The Guardian: England’s rivers at risk as Michael Gove rips up rules on new housing.
Announcement set to anger environmentalists, but builders say nutrient neutrality laws are exacerbating housing crisis. The decision will spark anger among environmentalists, who say it will further add to water pollution. However, it will please major developers.
26 August 2023 – The Guardian: Growing number of countries consider making ecocide a crime.
Mexico latest country where government is considering passing new laws to criminalise environmental destruction. In Scotland, Labour MSP Monica Lennon is trying to introduce an ecocide bill and will launch a public consultation on the matter in the autumn.
Ed: Is what our water companies are doing to our rivers and beaches not ‘ecocide’?
28 August 2023 – East Anglian Bylines: Anglian Water guilty of greenwashing.
Last autumn, Anglian Water aired an advertising campaign claiming their commitment to preserving clean waterways through the creation of wildlife-friendly wetlands. But, this declaration was met with scepticism due to Anglian Water’s history of sewage dumping.
24 August 2023 – Water UK: … around 87% of treated sludge is recycled to agricultural land as a soil improver?
Sewage sludge is a byproduct of the sewage treatment process. It is formed as a result of solids settling out of the sewage within parts of the treatment process and is typically pumped into tankers and transported to sludge treatment centres for further processing. Sewage sludge has a high calorific value and contains many useful byproducts.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Did you know in the Netherlands regulations around the disposal of treated human waste are so restrictive that it all but bans the spreading of ‘treated sludge’ on ‘agricultural land’ as they simply don’t want the risk of it reentering the food chain in any way whatsoever.
Ed: In 2020 30,000 tons of sludge was imported into UK from the Netherlands.
26 August 2023 – Cornwall Live: Five Cornwall beaches hit by sewage alerts for Bank Holiday weekend.
Beachgoers are being warned to stay out of the water today (Saturday, August 26) in some areas. The beaches impacted are Portmellon, East Looe, Seaton, Mawgan Porth and Haryln Bay.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Traditionally in the UK it would rain on Bank Holiday weekends, in the modern world we just dump sh*t onto our beaches.
25 August 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) Tweets: Former Environment Secretary [George Eustace] cleared to set up environmental consultancy.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: I tell you what, based on his performance as Secretary of State for the Environment it’s advice that’s simply not worth paying for.
23 August 2023 – Express and Star: Ban sewage discharges over Bank Holiday weekend – Lib Dems.
The Environment Secretary should ban water companies from discharging sewage on popular beaches over the Bank Holiday weekend, the Lib Dems have said. Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said: “The British public should be given a weekend off from swimming in polluted waters”. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added: “This is a reckless suggestion that risks the safety of homes and businesses”.
13 August 2023 – West Country Voices: Shaldon water quality warning sign sends out the wrong signals.
Shaldon [in Devon], like many seaside resorts, is struggling with the lack of investment in its water infrastructure. Four combined sewer overflows discharge into the river upstream of the main beach. In 2022, there were nearly 20 alerts, so far in 2023 there have been 8. The local Parish Council which owns the beach operates a warning system in conjunction with the Environment Agency. An illuminated sign in the shelter for the ferry across the river to Teignmouth, gives a red warning advising against bathing. Daily emails from the Environment Agency are checked by the council to ensure that the sign is working. However … the sign was not providing a warning.
20-24 August 2023: CONFERENCE – World Water Week 2023 – Online and in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ed: Maybe our Water Companies should be at this event:
Thursday, 24 August | 11:00-12:30 hrs: Wastewater monitoring and surveillance for sound public health and environmental management
21 August 2023 – Leicester Mercury: ‘Torrent’ of sewage pumped into river at Leicestershire beauty spot.
Sewage has killed all wildlife in a stretch of water at a Leicestershire beauty spot, a parish councillor has claimed. Jim Buck, who sits on Barwell Parish Council, says tissue, sanitary products and condoms have been left behind following discharges from a storm overflow on the River Tweed at the rear of Barwell Park.
19 August 2023 – The Guardian: Fury as national health check of England’s waters faces six year wait.
Assessment that used to happen annually will now take six years despite rising concerns. In 2019, the last time the full assessments took place, just 14% of rivers were in good ecological health and none met standards for good chemical health.
@sascampaigns tweets: Government’s solution to a problem? Hide it and run a mile #SewageScandal.
17 August 2023 – ‘My daughter started to run a fever’: Britain’s swimmers on how sewage changed their summer.
With pollution at high levels and growing worse, some keen swimmers have stopped going in the sea. Many have felt the impact on their mental health – not to mention the pain and discomfort of E coli.
17 August 2023 – BBC News: Egg farmer halves pollution levels.
A conservation group has said an environmental project at a chicken farm in Herefordshire has halved the amount of pollution entering local watercourses. The work has seen 11 pools dug along a 300m-long stretch of land, which loosely resemble a series of canal locks. Together, they slow down water and trap nutrients as run-off from fields makes its way down through the pools.
15 August 2023 – Sussex World: East Sussex residents express concerns as more sewage is dumped on local beaches.
Seaford residents have raised their concerns after sewage was once again being discharged on to the town’s beach while there was no rainfall.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: @SouthernWater dumping sewage outside of an ‘exceptional situation”, surely not?
14 August 2023 – Daily Express: Beautiful UK town plagued by foul smell of raw sewage which has ‘ruined’ residents’ summer.
Health officers from the council claimed that a large tank of untreated sewage that had been moved onto site from other locations as an emergency measure is the source of the smell that has been bothering the locals.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: ‘Emergency measure’? That’s lasted all summer? Which of TW sewage works is failing due to lack of investment?
13 August 2023 – The Guardian: ‘There are more important things than profit’: Giles Bristow of Surfers Against Sewage on the shocking state of our seas.
‘There are more important things than profit’: Giles Bristow of Surfers Against Sewage on the shocking state of our seas. Our seas and rivers have never been in a worse state after years of neglect by the water companies. Now, we routinely check the sewage app alongside the weather. Meet the new CEO of Surfers Against Sewage who plans to turn the tide.
13 August 2023 – Financial Times: Victorian sewers not to blame for England’s pollution, research shows.
Water company excuses for spills debunked by findings that most infrastructure was built in 20th century.
14 August 2023 – Proactive Investors: Northumbrian Water boss stokes sewage row with increased bonus.
Northumbrian Water increased the bonus for its boss by 65% even though it was rated among the six worst water companies by regulator Ofwat. Heidi Mottram was paid a £215,000 bonus, up from £130,000 the year prior, accounts show, despite the company being rated by the regulator as lagging behind on its performance targets.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Clearly there seems to be no issue with the amount of money discharging out of bill payers’ pockets straight into the CEO’s bank account.
11 August 2023 – The Conversation: Don’t just wait for the water firms – three things we can do right now to clean up Britain’s rivers.
1. Less concrete, more soil (but we need legislation)
2. Develop the UK’s ‘kidneys’ (aka wetlands)
3. Individual responsibility (yes wet-wipes!)
12 August 2023 – Ends Report: Coffey gives water companies steer to defer climate and nature initiatives to find savings.
The environment secretary is seeking to steer water companies to delay measures to meet “non-statutory commitments including net zero” to reduce costs on customers, Environment Agency letters sent to water companies have revealed, with green groups warning against moves which could see carbon-intensive anti-pollution measures prioritised.
12 August 2023 – The Observer: ‘An utter disgrace’: 90% of England’s most precious river habitats blighted by raw sewage and farming pollution.
Observer investigation reveals the shocking state of the country’s protected freshwater sites of special scientific interest. Recent government figures show that only 9.9% of these habitats on sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) are in favourable condition. SSSI status encompasses freshwater habitats, along with nearby woodland, marsh and fenland. In comparison 59.4% of protected habitats on coasts and estuaries are in favourable condition.
11 August 2023 – Cornwall Live: Cornwall beach sees South West Water blasted for broken sewage monitor.
The company had the most broken monitors in the UK and one of the beaches affected is at Bude. Beaches at Bude in Cornwall as well as Dawlish in Devon and Lyme Regis in Dorset all have sewage monitors installed which have been faulty in both 2021 and 2022.
10 August 2023 – Extinction Rebellion (XRO) Oxford: Stage 4 in the campaign for an end to sewage dumping.
Extinction Rebellion is supporting the national Dirty Water campaigning coalition that is calling for an end to sewage dumping (1). All Saturday 5th August Dirty Water activities in Oxford were cancelled due to extreme rainfall. Undaunted, Extinction Rebellion is proceeding to repeat Oxford activities on Saturday 12th August, namely: 3-6pm at Donnington Bridge, East Oxford and 3-6pm at Bailey Bridge(2), Port Meadow.
9 August 2023 – The Guardian: Public could receive hundreds of millions as water firms face sewage lawsuit.
Class action legal claim on behalf of 20 million householders in England and Wales could top £800m in compensation. The legal claims allege the water companies have breached competition law by failing to report discharges which would have affected the price they can charge to customers.
@LeighDay_Law tweets: BREAKING: first environmental competition class action case launched on behalf of millions of UK customers overcharged by water companies.
3 August 2023 – Infrastructure Investor: Macquarie’s Bradley on Thames Water.
“There’s nothing in our returns I’m embarrassed about”.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Macquarie owned @thameswater from 2006 – 17 by the time they finished with it they had taken £2.7bn in dividends out of the company £2.2bn in loans left it £10,8bn in debt and a pension fund deficit of £380mn.
7 August 2023 – Wales Online: Surf school forced to cancel lessons as sewage pumped into sea.
An inclusive surf school offering adapted lessons for disabled young people has spoken out after pollution alerts forced them to cancel sessions during a busy summer.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Now what was @DefraGovUK saying about the economic impact study, oh yea, there isn’t one. I wonder why?
7 August 2023 – @MattStaniek on Twitter: Windermere is being used as an open sewer.
Isn’t Windermere beautiful ! Hm, hang on, what’s that smell? Wait, why is the water cloudy ? Windermere is being used as an open sewer. @EnvAgency why is this happening ? Join our fight to Save Windermere from sewage by signing up here.
5 August 2023 – North East Bylines: Raw sewage waterfall at Hazel Grove Beck [Saltburn] today.
Photos show raw sewage flowing out of storm overflows. A resident says: “Why doesn’t the government make them [the water companies] fulfil their contracts by spending profits on repairs, upgrades, and maintenance of the systems rather than dividends for shareholders and huge bonuses for directors?”
5 August 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Corruption Control – Part Five: The Legal Department.
The permits that allow water companies to pollute, the setting of prosecution policy, and decisions to pursue or curtail legal action are rooted in the legal department of an Agency that has failed to bring a single water industry director to court despite serial offending by companies. As an example, Thames Water has over 180 criminal convictions while trial judges have noted that knowledge of the offending went to the top of the organisation and made similar comments about Southern Water.
3 August 2023 – The Guardian: Growing number of sewage monitors in England’s bathing waters ‘broken’.
New analysis of 2022 Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats has shown that more than 100 sewage monitors in bathing waters were faulty. Fifty-two of these monitors were found to have been faulty in both 2021 and 2022. The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “These profiteering firms have been too busy stuffing their pockets instead of fixing basic infrastructure”.
4 August 2023 – Kent Online: Herne Bay seafront suffers 19 sewage dumps in a month.
Seething residents say “there is always an excuse” after Southern Water blamed heavy rainfall on almost 20 sewage releases over the past month near Herne Bay. Traders are furious that visitor numbers to the town this summer have dropped and feel the ongoing saga involving the water company has contributed to the lack of business.
3 August 2023 – Yahoo!news: ‘Absolutely stinks’: Beachgoer’s disgust as sewage filmed pouring into sea on Cornwall coast.
A man has shared a video highlighting his disgust at the sight of sewage pouring into the sea near a Cornish beach. Video footage taken at Harlyn Beach in the south-west of England showed a storm overflow gushing into the ocean, resulting in excrement floating in the water. One beachgoer accused water companies of not making the signs – designed to warn swimmers of the waste – big enough to read.
5 August 2023 – The Guardian: Fifty-seven swimmers fall sick and get diarrhoea at world triathlon championship in Sunderland.
British Triathlon are investigating why so many competitors fell ill after the event last weekend. An Environment Agency sampling at Roker beach on Wednesday 26 July, three days before the event, showed 3,900 E Coli colonies per 100ml, more than 39 times higher than typical readings the previous month.
3 August 2023 – ITV Tonight Episode 23. Britain’s Dirty Water: What Went Wrong?
Joe Crowley investigates the current state of British beaches and how much bills may need to rise in order to upgrade sewage infrastructure. He highlights issues in Lake Windermere, Scarborough and Blackpool. Stuart Colville, Head of Policy at Water UK says that keeping bills down is to blame to lack of investment. [Ed: He does not mention the massive dividends paid out to investors].
2 August 2023 – Yahoo!news: ‘Rife with sewage’: UK holidaymakers issued warning over beaches.
Britons heading off for staycations this summer have been advised to check the water for sewage before taking a dip in the sea. Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) shared a map of the UK coastlines that show many parts of the UK “rife with sewage pollution”. It comes after recent data from SAS showed 654 alerts of sewer overflows spilling sewage into bathing waters from 171 locations in England and Wales.
2 August 2023 – The Guardian: Britain’s world championship triathletes cannot train in Irish Sea due to pollution.
British triathletes preparing for next month’s world championships have been forced to abandon open water swim training because of sewage in the sea off the coast of Lancashire. Adam Diver [one of the triathletes] said of the pollution: “It is horrible and it is upsetting. You can smell it as well, especially on hot days, you can smell the sewage.” Diver is involved in planning a national day of protest over sewage in Britain’s seas and rivers on 14 October.
1 August 2023 – BBC News: Hundreds raise concerns about new Cambridge sewage works.
The Cambridge Water Treatment Plan is being moved to free up land for the North East Cambridge development which is set to include more than 8,000 homes and create 15,000 jobs. Hundreds of people and groups have submitted objections to the planning inspectorate, primarily with concerns about the environmental impact.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: So the £277m needed to build the new @camcitco sewage works is being funded by taxpayers, not @AnglianWater‘s shareholders, but the company will own the plant & therefore the asset value with the old works sold for development & AW keeping the cash from the sale. That right?
1 August 2023 – UN Environment Programme: CONFERENCE World Water Week 2023 – 20-24 August 2023 Online and in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ed: Let’s hope our Environment Agency is going. They may learn something about ‘sustainable wastewater management‘! Sample papers:
Wednesday, 23 August | 09:30-10:00 hrs: Scaling up solutions for sustainable wastewater and nutrient management
Wednesday, 23 August | 11:00-11:40 hrs: From sick water to rich water: enhancing sustainable wastewater management
1 August 2023 – Business Green: Investigation: Protected areas in England and Wales hit with 300,000 hours of raw sewage in 2022.
Ed: Echoing the Mirror report. Also reported by National World, LancsLive and Northern Echo.
July 2023 Sewage Watch
31 July 2023 – Mirror: Sewage pours into conservation sites including Lake District for 300,000 hours.
Greenpeace found precious habitats heavily hit by spills include the Lake District and Wales’ Brecon Beacons. Its investigative unit Unearthed said 1,193 sewage overflows discharged within 50m of a protected areas last year, lasting 305,963 hours. Megan Corton Scott, Political Campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “These are the casualty figures from a war which nature is losing, badly. Private water companies treat our countryside as a toilet …
31 July 2023 – Yahoo!life: One in four sea swimmers put off by sewage discharges, say Lib Dems.
Just over 30% of UK adults said they go sea swimming during the summer, and of these 23% said they will not this year because of sewage dumping by water companies. The poll, carried out by Savanta with 2,272 UK adults between July 21 and 23, found 43% of regular beachgoers said they were less likely to visit the British seaside this summer because of the sewage discharges.
30 July 2023 – Extinction Rebellion (XRO) Oxford: DIRTY WATER WAVE 4 – WATER POLLUTION, A HAZARD TO OUR HEALTH.
Join XR Rebels, and Allied organisations in a protest about the shocking state of our polluted waterways. In this 4th Wave of the Dirty Water campaign we will be reaching out to the public in Central Oxford seeking support in the campaign against Water Companies that continue to pump raw sewage into our rivers.
AUGUST 5 @ 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Cornmarket.
29 July 2023 – iNews (Save Britain’s Rivers): The man diving through condoms, sanitary pads and sewage to highlight the state of UK rivers.
Mr Barrow first witnessed a sewage dump while filming wildlife in the river 15 years ago. “I assumed I’d hit this wall of silt. It wasn’t until I surfaced that I realised I was actually in the middle of a sewage discharge. And by the time I got out I was literally covered in everything that had been flushed down the toilet. Vile,” he said.
28 July 2023 – The Scotsman: Will England allow its iconic and rare chalk stream habitats to be trashed by pollution?
Described by David Attenborough as “one of the rarest habitats on Earth” in his recent BBC series, Wild Isles, chalk streams are under serious threat. Charles Rangeley-Wilson, appointed by the UK Environment Agency to help deliver on a 2021 government strategy to save chalk streams, said we are “miles from where we need to be.
27 July 2023 – New Scientist: River pollution ‘offsets’ for homes in England and Wales may not work.
Building new homes increases the amount of pollution that is released into waterways, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen. These nutrients are expensive to process in wastewater treatment works and so a significant amount ends up being released into local rivers, says Peter Cruddas at the University of Portsmouth, UK. This, in turn, leads to the deoxygenation of water bodies, harming both fish and plant life.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: [the offsets] are often impractical and lack scientific evidence to support them, experts have warned.
27 July 2023 – @SOSWhitstable tweets: Suddenly @SouthernWater have retrospectively added EIGHT new releases for Whitstable over the past 2 weeks, amounting to 26+ hours of sewage.
This includes 14 hours last night and 4 hours before the end of school swim. This is not good enough.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: It’s amazing how fragile water companies IT systems appear to be, not unlike their sewage and water supply infrastructure, decades of mismanagement, underinvestment and corporate greed.
26 July 2023 – ITV News: United Utilities confirm sewage discharges on three Merseyside beaches.
People are being warned not to swim in the sea at three Merseyside beaches following reports of sewage discharges in the area. United Utilities confirmed to ITV Granada Reports that there had been sewage discharges at Moels, Moreton and Southport beaches.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Just 2 months ago @unitedutilities paid £300 million in dividends to shareholders. Perhaps a little bit more of that money should have been spent on their sewage system.
26 July 2023 – Yorkshire Post: Yorkshire Water pays out £62m in dividends after sharp rise in profits.
Its annual report said £62.3m in dividends were paid to other companies in the Kelda Group, to help cover interest payments on loans taken out on behalf of Yorkshire Water, and no money went to external shareholders. Yorkshire Water is part of Kelda Group, which is run by Kelda Holdings Limited. Shareholders in the Jersey-based parent company include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Australia’s SAS Trustee Corporation.
25 July 2023 – Devon Live: Four Devon beaches hit with sewage alerts after storm discharges.
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) warns that storm sewage has been discharged from four beaches. The main contributing factor to polluted beaches is urban runoff, which sees fertilizers, pesticides, oil, and untreated human and animal waste all entering waterways, such as rivers. They then eventually end up at our beaches.
25 July 2023 – BBC News: Thames Water ordered to tackle sewage smell.
Neighbours of the site in Riverside Way, Camberley, have complained for weeks about “cess-pit” smells from its treatment works. Surrey Heath Borough Council’s environmental health team has written to the company to require “all reasonably practicable action to mitigate the foul smells”.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Thames Water ordered to tackle sewage smell.” Ah, so at least one local council is beginning to realise they have all kinds of public nuisance enforcement powers over water companies. Well done @Surreyheath. Who’s next?
25 July 2023 – The Guardian: Thames Water has failed to install any smart meters yet in £70m green scheme.
Company admits delay in rolling out devices to 204,700 customers, with deadline less than two years away.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: I’m stating the obvious but @thameswater really is one of the worst run companies in the UK. Given £70m in 2021 to install 204K smart water meters. Job not even started yet.
24 July 2023 – Henley Standard: Water company sewage record ‘unacceptable’.
CAMPAIGNERS in Henley have branded Thames Water a “disgrace” after it was revealed the company had more serious pollution incidents in 2022 than in any single year since 2013. Councillor Jo Robb, who sits on South Oxfordshire District Council and is a member of the Henley Mermaids open water swimming group, said: “This report is shocking but absolutely not a surprise. Of greatest concern is that of 17 serious pollution incidents, only six were self-reported to the Environment Agency by Thames Water itself. This is a total disgrace”.
23 July 2023 – Yahoo!life: Public warned not to swim at 19 popular UK beaches over poor water quality – full list of locations affected.
Environment group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have issued the alerts on its interactive map advising the public not to swim at specific beaches due to waste being discharged from a sewer overflow within the past 48 hours. David Forsdick KC, representing the environmental group WildFish, said 75% of the discharges into waterways were because of a lack of hydraulic capacity at treatment works.
22 July 2023 – Yahoo!movies: Interactive map shows pollution caused by sewage spills across Liverpool and Merseyside.
According to official data, sewage discharges have polluted every corner of England and Wales in the last year. The water industry has been under widespread pressure from the public and the government to clean up its performance after recording almost 400,000 sewage dumping incidents in England and Wales in 2022, totalling to 3.3 million hours of pollution pouring into the country’s waterways. Wirral was the Merseyside area worst affected by discharges, with sewage pouring into its waterways for over 19,000 hours.
21 July 2023 – The Caterer: Lake District’s Michelin-starred restaurants team up for Save Windermere campaign.
Several chefs, including Ollie Bridgwater from Source at the Gilpin Hotel and Paul Burgalières from L’Enclume, have joined the Save Windermere campaign dinner, which is due to take place in September. The Chefs4SaveWindermere initiative was spearheaded by Barney Cunliffe of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House and has received support from a number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the Lake District. Money raised from the event will go towards supporting Save Windermere campaign’s data collection and parliamentary lobbying methods.
21 July 2023 – Warrington-Wordwide: Extinction Rebellion gathers outside United Utilities AGM.
EXTINCTION Rebellion campaigners were today gathering outside Warrington based United Utilities’ AGM to protest against the levels of sewage dumping destroying rivers, lakes and seas. Hannah Stanton, a teacher and member of Extinction Rebellion Trafford, said, “The crisis in our waterways is a result of corporate greed that sees executives and shareholders pocketing huge payouts while workers’ pay is squeezed, our infrastructure crumbles, wildlife dies and our environment is wrecked”.
19 July 2023 – Brighton and Hove News: Council due to debate motion on sewage.
Green councillor criticises Southern Water for discharges and calls for compensation for Brighton and Hove. Councillor Pete West says: “The combination of defunding, deregulation and privatisation is obliterating services across our country and allowing water companies to dump sewage with relative impunity. Public ownership of water is an essential step to fix this systemic problem.”
18 July 2023 – The Guardian: Thames Water’s biggest investor has cut value of stake by nearly 30%.
Debt-laden company has faced questions over financial stability and ability to raise funds. The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (Omers), a Canadian pension fund that owns a 31% stake in Britain’s biggest water supplier, reduced the valuation put on its investment last year, it has emerged.
@Feargal_Sharkey tweets: Rescue plan is going well then?
17 July 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Corruption Control – Part Four: Ofwat.
Ofwat’s position on outside interests and shares in water companies is similar to that of the Environment Agency, in that they are supposed to be avoided if they may compromise the individual (to paraphrase), but unlike the Agency it is very specific about forbidding interests in water companies. The current Chair of Ofwat … is also still a senior advisor at HIG Capital – a massive private equity/alternative assets investment company. His predecessor … had been Managing Director at Yorkshire Water (1996 to 2000) and Group Chief Executive, of AWG plc (later Anglian Water Group Plc) and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Anglian Water Services Ltd (2004 to 2010). “The measures to manage risks involving conflicts of interest and therefore corruption are wholly unfit and must be reformed.”
18 July 2023 – New Scientist: Treated sewage released into rivers may hamper eel migrations.
European eels avoid swimming through plumes of effluent from sewage treatment plants, which could delay their journeys and use up precious energy reserves. Sewage treatment creates a complex chemical cocktail – “thousands and thousands of chemicals, and we don’t know the exact composition”, says Hendrik Volken Winter at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
18 July 2023 – The Times: South East Water retains £9m dividend despite £74m loss.
South East Water reported a £74m loss due to the extreme events of 2022 yet still managed to find £9m for its shareholders. @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “Yes, you can’t make this stuff up. And the regulator @ofwat does what exactly?”
17 July 2023 – Guildford Dragon: Thames Water Among Worst in the Country – Environment Agency.
The [EA] report, published July 12, found that for serious pollution incidents four companies performed significantly below target – and none more so than Anglian Water and Thames Water. In Guildford, the number of incidents has been improving with a reduction of untreated sewage discharges sewer into the River Wey at Slyfield from 27 times for 346 hours in 2020 to 11 times for a total of 98 hours in 2021 and seven times for a total of 68 hours in 2022 and only once this year (2023) so far.
See also The Chiswick Calendar: Thames Water among the worst in the country for pollution.
17 July 2023 – Cambridge Independent: Anglian Water seeking ‘lenient’ permit for river pollution.
Anglian Water is challenging calls from the Environment Agency to tighten up limits on the release of ‘solid’ matter and phosphate from its sewage works in Cambridge. The water company, which has applied to move the wastewater treatment plant at Cowley Road in Cambridge to a new site a mile away on green belt land, admits it is currently ‘non compliant’ on the limits in dry weather. @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “No matter what @AnglianWater would have had you believe in their now banned tv ad here’s the reality”.
16 July 2023 – ITV News: Anglian Water named one of worst performing water companies by Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency’s annual report on the environmental performance of water companies rated Anglian Water two out of five stars for the second year running. It said it was concerned the company “will not or cannot change” after causing over 250 sewage pollution incidents in 2022, with 11 of these defined as serious. @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “That of course came just 3 days after @AnglianWater was named company of the year at the Water Industry Awards 2023. What a farce”.
16 July 2023 – Western Telegraph: Sewage pollution alert for Newport beach, Pembrokeshire.
The warning to people not to swim at Newport was issued yesterday, Saturday July 15 by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), and remains in force today, Sunday July 16. @Feargal_Sharkey tweets: “Oh and don’t think you’re going to escape [pollution] by going to the outer reaches of Wales either”.
15 July 2023 – Wild Oxfordshire: Source to Sewage Public Meeting Moreton in Marsh.
Volunteer citizen scientists have been monitoring the River Evenlode and their results are quite shocking. The river is polluted at its very source … with nitrate and phosphate levels off the chart at times.
15 July 2023 – @Feargal_Sharkey: Good old @SouthWestWater always dependable, always reliable, always crap.
Highest water bills in England, customers living under a hosepipe ban since last August and this morning dumping sewage into huge swaths of if not most of Cornwall and Devon. Ho hum.
15 July 2023 – Cornwall Live: Fifty four Cornwall beaches slapped with raw sewage warning after heavy rainfall.
Swimming in contaminated water can lead to gastroenteritis, hepatitis, giardiasis, skin rashes, amoebic dysentery, nose, ear, and throat problems, pink eye, and other respiratory illnesses.
@Feargal_Sharkey: Just as the school holidays approach!
14 July 2023 – Private Eye Magazine: Thames Water threatens staff with NDAs to stop them talking to the press.
“As if we have any idea how to stop leaks!”
13 July 2023 – Reuters: UK water pollution incidents still ‘unacceptably high’, says report.
Britain had fewer serious water pollution incidents in 2022 than in the previous year but the number remains “unacceptably high”, the government’s Environment Agency said in its annual report on Wednesday. Water companies in Britain have been facing overwhelming criticism over raw sewage releases which have led to the poor quality of rivers and beaches, while large payouts made to their shareholders have also stoked public anger.
13 July 2023 – BBC News: River Wye taskforce would act to clean up waterway, letter says.
The government is being urged to set up a border task force to clean up the River Wye. In a letter, Herefordshire Council chief executive Paul Walker says laws to stop pollution are not working. The letter is backed by local wildlife groups, charities, and local politicians.
13 July 2023 – Open Democracy: UK river ‘dying’ after farmers lobbied government to water down protections.
National Farmers’ Union boasted about months of lobbying to weaken enforcement of environmental regulation. Natural England recently downgraded the status of the River Wye, a designated Special Area of Conservation due to a decline of key species. Environmental charity River Action UK says the loophole effectively allows farmers to spread excess manure, which then washes into rivers.Fifty four Cornwall beaches slapped with raw sewage warning after heavy rainfall
13 July 2023 – Open Democracy: UK river ‘dying’ after farmers lobbied government to water down protections.
National Farmers’ Union boasted about months of lobbying to weaken enforcement of environmental regulation. Natural England recently downgraded the status of the River Wye, a designated Special Area of Conservation due to a decline of key species. Environmental charity River Action UK says the loophole effectively allows farmers to spread excess manure, which then washes into rivers.
10 July 2023 – New Civil Engineer: Current sewage pollution issues could be the result of well-intended privatisation legislation.
The well-intentioned widespread use of 6mm screens at sewage works could not cope with the volumes and were often overwhelmed. The water companies did nothing to correct this mistake. Ed: Very technical but well worth reading.
11 July 2023 – @darrenpjones (Bristol MP) on Twitter: EFRA (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Committee to quiz Thames Water, OFWAT and Ministers – 12 July 2023.
Why they let the owners of water companies: Ramp up debt, Increase exec pay, and Expose taxpayers to billions of pounds of risk.
12 July 2023 – @FeargalSharkey on Twitter: People with large gardens should pay higher bills says Thames Water boss.
Well that’s really going to fix the £14bn black hole in @thameswater‘s accounts. Is there any danger of a water company actually hiring someone who knows what they’re doing?
11 July 2023 – Devon Live: Map shows twenty Devon beaches plagued by sewage and pollution.
A recently updated sewage map by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has revealed that 20 beaches across Devon currently have pollution or sewage warnings in place. Beauty spots such as Exmouth, Sidmouth and Salcombe are to name but a few of the areas where warnings are in place as swimmers are urged to avoid entering the water.
11 July 2023 – Evening Standard: Thames Water’s former CEO handed half a million pounds as higher bills help keep it afloat.
The payment revealed today was compensation for share awards she may have received at her previous employer, Severn Trent. Her payoff for leaving Thames Water, which will be revealed “in due course”, is likely to be far more. Around 15 million billpayers across London and the southeast are helping keep the embattled and heavily indebted company afloat as it faces down calls for nationalisation.
10 July 2023 – Evening Standard: Thames Water misses targets on leakages, pollution and usage.
Thames Water has missed half of its performance targets, including those on leakages, sewer flooding, pollution, blockages and customer usage.
8 July 2023 – The Guardian (John Nelson): I helped to privatise England’s water firms. But it’s government inaction that wrecked them.
“As bankers in the 80s and 90s, we created safe, stock-market-listed companies. Then private equity moved in, but despite many warnings, Whitehall did nothing. … these sensibly capitalised plcs .were acquired by private equity and infrastructure funds, largely based outside the UK. They used substantial amounts of debt for acquisition, with a view to paying down the debt as rapidly as possible from the strong positive cashflows that these companies generated; this in order to maximise the equity returns. … extraordinarily, this policy was aided and abetted by the regulatory regime [which] disincentivised companies from investing for the long term.”
6 July 2023 – Financial Times: Letter [from Roger Salmon]: Thames Water should not drain taxpayers’ money.
“A key feature of the regulatory scheme [setting up the water companies] was that, in the event of financial default, the interests of the customer ranked before financial creditors.” So no reason for the taxpayer to bail out Thames Water.
10 July 2023 – Feargal Sharkey on Twitter: Thames Water’s annual results, published today, are a real bag of laughs.
No mention of the pending bankruptcy, no mention that shareholders didn’t provide the £1.5bn investment promised last year, only they’ll provide £700m but only if @ofwat agrees customers should pay for it.
8 July 2023 – Yorkshire Post: Dumping of sewage in rivers shames water companies, regulators and the Government.
Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. It has been claimed that just two of the region’s rivers have had the equivalent of 419 Olympic swimming pools worth of raw sewage pumped into them. The government should be treating the now long standing issue of sewage discharges as a crisis.
8 July 2023 – CNN: Britain’s water industry crisis: Sewage spills, huge leaks and crushing debts.
The UK water sector is “clearly in a state of multiple crises,” said Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford. “The day job of maintaining the assets … and achieving required environmental outcomes has not been done very well, and in some cases very badly … widespread financial engineering” to boost dividend payouts to shareholders had left the industry in a precarious position”.
7 July 2023 – Good Law Project: Petition to end corporate pollution in our rivers.
The UK’s rivers belong to us all – we won’t let water companies dump sewage into them. Agree? Sign now to protect our natural landscape from corporations.
7 July 2023 – The Guardian: South East Water spent more on dividends and debt than infrastructure.
Even water companies providing drinking water are fleecing us. The company which left thousands of households without running water last month spent more on dividends and servicing its debt pile over two years than investing in infrastructure.
6 July 2023 – Oscar Dog: 3 beaches in North Norfolk lost their blue flag status.
MP Duncan Baker is more interested in awarding contracts to businesses monitoring pollution than stopping the pollution in the first place.
4 July 2023: Andrew Curry – Just Two Things: 2: A modest proposal to rebuild Britain’s sewage infrastructure.
Andrew summarises the situation as: “… the current water system is broken; it takes a lot of money to fix it; the British economy is both fragile and stretched bare; but the proposition of investing in infrastructure is attractive if it can find the money”, which is over £250bn!
7 July 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Corruption Control – Part Three – Southern Water.
A director of British Water (representing the Water Industry) was given a post on the Environment Agency (regulator of the Water Industry). He later joined Southern Water a few months before sentencing on a March 2020 offence. How can such people deny a conflict of interest. “The Environment Agency is not a regulator fit to operate in the voracious commercial world it inhabits”.
5 July 2023 – Isle of Thanet News: Six Thanet beaches affected by Southern Water sewer outfall releases.
And on another island … Sewer water releases from two outfall pipes in Margate (each lasting 3 or 4 hours) has affected six Thanet beaches. Southern Water’s Beachbuoy website shows warnings over water quality at Margate, Fulsam Rock, Walpole Bay, Botany Bay, Joss Bay and Stone Bay.
5 July 2023 – Island Echo: BURST SEWAGE PIPE AT YAVERLAND SET TO CAUSE WEEKS OF CONGESTION AS 3-WAY TRAFFIC LIGHTS ERECTED.
Even the Isle of Wight is suffering from lack of maintenance of pressurised sewers. Southern Water engineers are working to repair yet another burst pressurised sewer at Yaverland, but it may be several weeks until the situation is resolved bringing about significant travel disruption for motorists.
5 July 2023 – Plymouth Herald: Plymouth children sick after swimming at Plymbridge Woods.
There are reports of up to nine children, aged between six and 11, becoming poorly after playing in the water at Plymbridge Woods on Saturday. South West Water denied any responsibility.
5 July 2023 – Cornwall Live: Sixteen Cornwall beaches hit with raw sewage warning after heavy rainfall.
Cornwall has seen 16 of its beaches declared a “pollution risks” or at risk of pollution by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) today (July 5). It comes after heavy downpours across the county yesterday. Beaches on both the south and north side of Cornwall are affected, including water near Looe, Newquay and Penzance.
4 July 2023 – Wild Fish UK: On 4 July, we’re taking the Government to the High Court in our fight against sewage pollution.
We want the Government to enforce the law – that has been in existence since 1994 – and stop water companies from dumping raw sewage in rivers. This means tearing up the plan which allows water companies to continue to break the law for a further 27 years until 2050.
4 July 2023 – Reuters: Struggling Thames Water fined $4 mln by UK court.
“We are deeply sorry for the entirely unacceptable pollution incident into the Gatwick Stream and River Mole six years ago,” the company’s interim co-CEO Cathryn Ross said in the statement. “We fully accept that we made significant errors and exercised poor judgment at the time.”
4 July 2023 – The Guardian: Henley regatta organisers complain of sewage pollution from Thames Water.
Even the posh set are getting worried about the River Thames. Henley Regatta Chairman, Sir Steve Redgrave said: “… we are deeply concerned about the impact that sewage pollution is having on our beautiful river”.
2 July 2023 – The Guardian: Editorial: Private water companies: a disaster made in the City.
The business model squeezes profits out of the infrastructure they own by cutting costs to the bone and maximising the income the holdings generate.
2 July 2023 – Financial Times: Lessons from the Thames Water debacle.
The regulators let companies get away with gearing up their balance sheets and paying out extra dividends. They also failed to ensure they did their day job: looking after the assets.
1 July 2023 – The Guardian: UK water giants recruit top staff from regulator Ofwat.
Demands for an end to the ‘revolving door’ as ex-Ofwat directors are hired by key firms. England’s water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog.
June 2023 Sewage Watch
29 June 2023 – Bristol MP Darren Jones says the water companies are just not regulated.
#BBCBreakfast / @Haggis_UK: We need ministers to take some accountability for the quality of our regulators.
29 June 2023 – Water companies pay all their vast profits out in dividends leaving nothing for investment.
@RichardMurphy: Looking at the accounts of England’s water companies for the last twenty years, My conclusion is that they are all environmentally insolvent.
28 June 2023 – One of many articles on the possible collapse of Thames Water.
MSN / The Independent: Contingency plans being drawn up for possible collapse of Thames Water.
27 June 2023 – Macquarie group stripped Thames Water bare. Will they do the same to their new acquisition, Southern Water?
@Feargal_Sharkey: Macquarie venture capital “Vampire Kangaroo”.
26 June 2023 – WASP’s investigation reveals an absence of effective corruption control in one of the most important regulators of polluters – the Environment Agency.
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Corruption Control? Part Two.
22 June 2023 – United Utilities admit that spill into sea caused by a broken pipe at sewage treatment plant and excess rain.
The Telegraph: Blackpool beach visitors advised not to swim after 14-mile sewage spill.
21 June 2023 – The Environment Agency allows its staff and directors to own shares or hold directorships and business interests in the very companies they are supposed to regulate.
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP): Corruption control or turning a blind eye?
20 June 2023 – Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage announced that sewage had been discharged from storm overflows at Warkworth, Amble Links, Druridge Bay North and Druridge Bay South.
Chronicle Live: Fresh warning of sewage discharges at four of Northumberland’s most popular beaches.
20 June 2023 – Pollution from untreated sewage in the River Kennet kept school children out of the water for their safety. Action for the River Kennet (ARK) had to abandon a day of river-school activities due to untreated sewage pouring into the river.
Penny Post: Preshute and Great Bedwyn pupils give sewage the thumbs-down.
18 June 2023 – Pollution on Scarborough beaches closes down local businesses.
The Guardian: No swimming, no surfing: how a summer of sewage is ruining the British seaside day out.
17 June 2023 – Hadrian Cook still cannot believe the scale of the lack of regulation in the water industry. The current sewage crisis shows that neither the Environment Agency nor Defra are doing their job.
West England Bylines: Why should we pay to fix this Sewage Crisis?
17 June 2023 – James Wallace, CEO of River Action said: “England has the worst river health in Europe. The River Thames is an unsafe place and people are getting ill”.
Henley Herald: Packed Meeting to Plan for Action Against River Sewage Pollution.
17 June 2023 – Southern Water trumpets their shortlisting for three environmental Water Industry Awards, despite being fined £90m for sewage pollution.
Yahoo! News: Water company up for top environment awards despite 16,000 sewage spills.
16 June 2023 – Britain’s waters are in a foul state, a legacy of our inherited Victorian combined drainage system. The task to overhaul it is unaffordable and radical solutions are needed.
UnHerd: The dirty truth about sewage. Westminster can no longer ignore the stink.
16 June 2023 – Untreated water discharged directly into the Irish Sea 12 June during repair work at the United Utilities treatment facility in Fleetwood. Environment Agency, and various councils along the Fylde coast, warned people not to enter the water.
Lancs Live: E.coli ‘found in Blackpool sea’ following raw sewage discharge and no swim warnings across coast.
12 June 2023 – Lifeguards get swimmers out of the water because of a ‘sewage dump’ which Southern Water claims is ‘algal bloom’. An eye witness said the pollution was coming from an outfall pipe.
Brighton and Hove News: Swimmers told to leave water after patch of brown water found.
12 June 2023 – Ben Seal form British Canoeing says: “Recreational users like swimmers and paddlers are falling ill now as a result of the tens of thousands of hours of raw sewage that is ending up in our waters”.
British Canoeing: Sewage targets need to go ‘further and faster’.
8 June 2023 – The storm overflows taskforce, set up in August 2020, met on 30 August 2022 and published a plan the next day. It has not met since.
The Guardian: England raw sewage taskforce has only met once in last year, FoI request reveals.
6 June 2023 – Feargal Sharkey on Twitter: So there you have it. Less than a month after saying she would refuse any bonus Sarah (“I’m heartbroken about sewage”) Bentley snatches a £1.6m pay packet. Next time WCs say “SORRY”! bear that in mind.
The Times: Thames Water chief Sarah Bentley paid £1.6m despite giving up bonus.
5 June 2023 – River Action have a ten point plan to rescue our rivers. Top of the list is ‘Ending Sewage Pollution’. Sign and share the petition.
38 Degrees: Petition to ‘Rescue our Rivers’ passes 65,000 signatories.
5 June 2023 – What could Southern Water possibly be hiding by refusing to release documents to the Information Commissioner.
Feargal Sharkey: Southern Water is refusing to hand over board documents on sewage dumping.
3 June 2023 – WI’s 180,000-strong network of members will support bids to get river stretches designated as bathing sites. Chief executive, Melissa Green, said “The quality of water in the UK’s rivers is “currently shameful”.
BBC News: Women’s Institute pollution campaign a ‘clarion call’.
2 June 2023 – Pollution from Yorkshire Water is so bad that protesters at Scarborough couldn’t even enter the water at their recent paddle-out. See 22 May post too.
Surfers Against Sewage: Demand an end to #profitfrompollution now.
May 2023 Sewage Watch
31 May 2023 – EA themselves say the sewage spills data for 2022 is far too high and totally unacceptable. They are ‘considering’ whether any action is required under our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy. I SHOULD HOPE SO!
Environment Agency: Storm overflow spill data shows performance is totally unacceptable.
31 May 2023 – North East councillors call for reform of Northumbrian Water after years of putting public health at risk and large-scale environmental damage. It was outrageous that households would be made to pay for modernisation works.
Chronicle Live: Call for Northumbrian Water to be ‘reformed from top to bottom’ over North East sewage dumping.
30 May 2023 – Following on from our 15 May report, campaigners claim that the River Lim which flows through the seaside town of Lyme Regis and historically had trout, eels, invertebrates and even kingfishers is now “ecologically dead” as a direct result of sewage spills.
ITV News: Dorset’s River Lim now ‘ecologically dead’ after sewage spillages, campaigners say.
29 May 2023 – Feargal Sharkey tweets: “Despite sewage been dumped into the environment for 7,519,523 hours on 1,076,795 separate occasions over the last 3 years just 4 water companies have been prosecuted by the @EnvAgency. Now you know what regulatory failure looks like”.
Financial Times: Watchdog fines just four companies despite 300,000 sewage spills.
29 May 2023 – After last week’s announcement that they are supporting ‘Save Windermere’, the comedians Steve Coogan and Lee Mack are performing in Bowness for the environmental charity ‘Friends of The Lake District’. Steve says: “Stop putting sewage in the lake and remove the pollution … already there”.
ITV News: Steve Coogan and Lee Mack campaign against sewage discharges in Lake Windermere.
28 May 2023 – The water companies are doing what all such privatised entities do, which is to maximise profits and dividends. If you’re uncomfortable with that, there are two solutions, nationalisation or efficient, targeted regulation.
Readers of The Guardian: Water companies profit as we bathe in apathy.
26 May 2023 – Whitstable Oyster Company lost £200,000 in 2021 when they were forced to close for the whole summer, and they shut again in February this year.
ITV News: Worrying levels of E. coli in UK’s shellfish as sewage spills into sea.
26 May 2023 – Eleven shellfish production zones in south Cornwall have been closed after very high levels of E coli were found in their oysters and mussels. E coli concentrations detected were up to 400, yes four hundred, times the permitted level.
The Guardian: Sewage spills blamed as E coli forces Cornish shellfish sites to close.
26 May 2023 – After 45 years of angling on the River Wye, a local fisheries manager faces giving it up because of pollution. The “dreadful conditions” were having an impact on the eco-systems.
BBC News Gloucestershire: Water pollution: ‘We’ve lost it, the River Wye looks so ill’.
25 May 2023 – Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, Di Cross says: “Salisbury’s five rivers help to define the city and we must protect them. Access to clean water is a fundamental human right – as recognised by the United Nations – and yet for decades now in Britain, it has been treated as no more than a commodity. The water industry was privatised 30 years ago and during that time – while making huge profits and its directors drawing massive salaries – the water companies have failed to invest in new infrastructure or, indeed, manage existing infrastructure adequately, which has led to the totally unacceptable dumping of raw sewage in our waterways on myriad occasions.”
Salisbury Journal: Sewage and toxic chemicals: How polluted are Salisbury’s rivers?
22 May 2023 (I know it’s from last week but it’s important!) – Planning application under Section 8(2) of the Water Industry Act 1991 for Icosa Water Services Limited (owned through seven layers of Russian-doll companies by M&G Pension Fund) to “be appointed as Sewerage Undertaker in place of Thames Water Utilities Ltd” for Lower Way, Thatcham.
Councillor David Lister on Twitter. Are water companies off-loading assets to avoid scrutiny? Something smells whiffy.
25 May 2023 – This Conservative MP pretends that her Government is not to blame for sewage pollution. This is the sort of propaganda being put out by the Conservatives. Read with caution! Laura Ferris MP for Newbury: Newbury Weekly News: water companies must be held to account.
24 May 2023 – Four comedians (Steve Coogan, Joe Lycett, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse) join Matt Staniek, founder of Save Windermere, who says “What we lack is a comprehensive, visionary plan that guarantees the long-term protection of the crown jewel of the Lake District”. Mirror: Sewage in Windermere is killing ‘crown jewel of the Lake District’, says campaigner.
24 May 2023 – Severn Trent has increased its dividend to more than £260m, despite growing public anger over payments made by water suppliers to their shareholders and executives, as companies come under increasing pressure to tackle leaks and sewage pollution of rivers and seas. The Guardian: Severn Trent dividend exceeds £260m amid rising anger over sewage pollution.
24 May 2023 – As Feargal Sharkey tweets, “And just to add to @SouthWestWater’s headaches they also had to introduced a hosepipe ban just 4 weeks ago. You read that right. Two formal investigations underway by the regulator and a hosepipe ban, now what does that tell you about how SWW is run?” – Plymouth Herald: South West Water leaks probe amid Plymouth hosepipe ban.
22 May 2023 – As part of a nationwide action by campaign group Surfers Against Sewage, some Scarborough surfers surfed in South Bay to protest against the pollution, despite being told by the coastguard not to go into the sea due to poor water quality! As Feargal Sharkey tweets: “Yep, you can’t make this stuff up”. BBC News: Scarborough: Anti-sewage campaigners warned not to swim in sea.
20 May 2023 – After last week’s announcement that customers would foot the bill for overdue improvements, water companies still plan to pay out £15bn in dividends over next seven years. The Guardian: ‘The whole thing stinks’: UK water firms to pay £15bn to shareholders as customers foot sewage bill.
20 May 2023 – A report from 2002, which is still being withheld from publication, predicted the state of the privatised water industry today, and warned against private equity being allowed to move into water firms. The Guardian: Revealed: warning to ministers over privatised water kept secret since 2002.
19 May 2023 – The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says there is very little official monitoring of sewage discharge despite raw sewage being dumped for 113,000 hours last year. It believes the true figure is much more – only 4% of Scottish storm overflows are checked for spills. Third Force News (TFN): Ocean charity warns dumping raw sewage is a bigger issue than figures suggest.
18 May 2023 – This interactive graphic shows that the massive £54bn debt accrued by the water companies helps them pay large dividends but means that we customers fund the interest payments for that debt. Scotland’s water is not privatised and the Scots pay 7% less than the English or Welsh. The Guardian: Down the drain: how billions of pounds are sucked out of England’s water system.
18 May 2023 – £50bn required to update water infrastructure. That’s roughly the same sum the water companies raised through debt since privatisation – which we’re paying for – not to invest in infrastructure but to pay dividends to shareholders. Now they want us to pay again. What a load of … Rev Richard Cole: Twitter.
18 May 2023 – Water UK, the body which represents England’s nine water and sewage companies, apologised on behalf of the industry for not “acting quickly enough“. Campaigners are furious that consumers will foot the bill not the water companies themselves. Feargal Sharkey called it a “half apology” that was another attempt to extract more money from customers. BBC News: Sewage spills: Water bills set to rise to pay for £10bn upgrade.
16 May 2023 – This report says consumers must use less water and water companies should repair leaks. It does NOT say (as Feargal Sharkey DOES) that water companies’ regional water plans are not worth the paper they’re written on. South West Farmer: Demand for water will outstrip supply say water companies.
16 May 2023 – Bolton saw 2,000 spills from storm overflows in 2022. Bolton councillor says: “We are calling on the government to take action against water companies and to implement strict fines and targets to end this practice”. Bolton News: Petition to remove raw sewage from waterways across Bolton.
15 May 2023 – Irony of ironies! The Environment Agency cannot guarantee bathing water quality, as this caveat states: “Our pollution risk forecasts do not include notifications of storm overflow operations as a method to consistently assess the impact of spills to bathing waters has not yet been developed”. So what protection do we have? Environment Agency: Bathing water season for 2023 officially begins.
15 May 2023 – The River Lim Action Group has looked at statistics from the Rivers Trust which show that the amount of human waste entering the river has tripled in the last year. In 2020 sewage spilled into the Lim for 376 hours, in 2021 that had risen to 680 hours and throughout 2022 there were 2,200 hours of spillage. Bridport & Lyme Regis News: River Lim ‘ecologically dead’ after sewage poured into it.
14 May 2023 – Devon and Cornwall District Judge fines South West Water £2.1m which “shows the shareholders and management of South West Water the importance of compliance”. Feargal Sharkey tweets: “That is the 161st time @SouthWestWaterhas been fined over the last 10 years, a total of £4,573,634. Fines don’t work, something else needs to done”. The Moorlander: South West Water fined £2,1m for pollution offences.
12 May 2023 – Feargal Sharkey tweets that: “There are only 2 small stretches of river in England designated as bathing waters. This morning both have ‘No swim’ advisories posted”. The River Wharfe at Ilkley and Wolvercote Mill Stream near Oxford are both polluted. Defra: Bathing Water Quality.
11 May 2023 – It sounds as if Water Minister Rebecca Pow is getting tough with fines being paid out of the operating company and into a ‘Restoration Fund’. However as Feargal Sharkey comments on Twitter, the fine is less than 3% of Anglia Water’s dividend payment. A drop in the ocean of profit for them! East Anglia Bylines: More sewage, higher fines – Anglian Water punished again.
10 May 2023 – After pressure from the Marine Conservation Society and others, the High Court granted a hearing against Defra’s August 2022 Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. They want it extending to cover all coasts, estuaries and marine protected sites. New Civil Engineer: Defra consults on expansion of targets for storm overflow reduction.
8 May 2023 – Because UK water companies clothe themselves in a myriad of corporate structures, only one of which (the operating company) is regulated by Ofwat, they are able to pay out massive dividends, including ‘internal dividends’ to their parent companies. The £1.4bn represents some £50 per household or over 10% of our annual water bills. Financial Times: UK water company dividends jump to £1.4bn despite criticism over sewage outflows.
8 May 2023 – Surfers Against Sewage are holding a ‘Plymouth Paddle Out Protest’ on Plymouth Sound on 20 May for surfers, paddleboarders, swimmers, kayakers or simply those who care about the health of our waters. Plymouth Herald: Plymouth protesters ‘sick of sewage’ leaked into sea to stage paddle out protest.
8 May 2023 – John Anderson of the Burton Trent Partnership says the river has turned brown on several occasions recently with over 2,000 sewage dumps into the Trent in 2021. Staffordshire Live: Outrage over sewage being dumped in the River Trent in Burton.
6 May 2023 – Even in Scotland where water resources are not privatised, there are issues. A “large number of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs) outputs in Edinburgh’s waterways”, such as along the Water of Leith, the River Almond and the Figgate Burn. Edinburgh Reporter: Call for urgent action on “scandalous” discharging of sewage into city’s rivers.
5 May 2023 – The Australian Macquarie Group, whose asset management arm acquired a majority holding in UK’s Southern Water in August 2021, made a £4bn profit despite allowing Southern Water to discharge raw sewage for more than 3,700 hours at 83 bathing water beaches during an eight day period last autumn. The Guardian: Banking firm that owns Southern Water posts record profits.
3 May 2023 – Paul Hodgkinson, a Liberal Democrat councillor in the Gloucestershire wards of Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach said: “People raise it [the sewage issue] when we are out campaigning, people are very concerned about the sewage issue. The Cotswolds is famous for its iconic beauty, but it’s under threat.” Big Issue: ‘People are angry’: Will sewage sway how people vote in local elections?
2 May 2023 – In 2025, the year after the Olympic Games, Parisians can bathe in the Seine – “La qualité de l’eau est bonne” says Le Parisien. Paris spends €1bn to clean up the Seine so people can go swimming in it while last year alone @thameswater spent 7,000 hours dumping sewage into 31 of London’s rivers all of which ends up in the Thames. Feargal Sharkey: What a contrast.
1 May 2023 – The 4 May local elections are the first since the Guardian revealed the hidden scandal of the scale of raw sewage pollution in rivers, pushing the issue into the mainstream political debate. WASP founder Ash Smith says “The public were kept in the dark by government and the captured regulators but as campaigners dragged the dirty secrets out into the open, public awareness and disgust rapidly followed”. The Guardian – River pollution becomes key issue in English local elections.
1 May 2023 – From the cancellation of regattas to health advisories against swimming due to sewage dumps, the once pristine rivers of Oxford are now increasingly unsafe. Castle Mill Stream continues to display dangerous levels of bacteria – despite being the only official bathing spot on the Thames. Oxford Wild Swimming has “experienced a massive number of cancellations due to unsafe conditions in the river”. Cherwell (Oxford’s oldest student newspaper): “Sewage scum” and “nasty infections”: students plagued by deteriorating river quality.
April 2023 Sewage Watch
30 April 2023 – The Daily Express ‘Green Britain Needs You’ campaign focusses on dog walkers in Hampshire complaining about the polluted River Itchen. Quoting LibDems leader Ed Davey: sewage will be on many people’s minds on May 4 when they “protest” against the Government’s “lack of action”. Daily Express: Sewage in UK rivers surges to top of voters’ agenda.
30 April 2023 – An open letter to Conservative MPs called for more powers for the Environment Agency. Not one English river is classed as being in a healthy condition. Barnet Post: Labour candidate calls for funding to tackle ‘sewage scandal’.
28 April 2023 – The fines are starting to bite. Anglian Water pleaded guilty to discharging 7.5m litres of sewage at Jaywick Water Recycling Centre in Essex between June and July 2018 and were fined over £2.6m. ITV News: Anglian Water fined £2.6m for discharging 7.5m litres of sewage into North Sea at Jaywick. Also 3 May 2023 – New Civil Engineer: Anglian Water fined £2.7M over sewage spill into the North Sea.
28 April 2023 – At the UK’s annual River Restoration Conference in Birmingham, the recurring theme was that officials and the general public are too focused on sewage and not enough on the fact that nearly all of the UK’s rivers are in an unnatural state. Just 14 per cent of England’s rivers achieve good ecological status. New Scientist: Why saving Britain’s rivers means more than cleaning up sewage.
27 April 2023 – Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) reports on the failure of Labour’s bill to reduce sewage discharges. Thames Water routinely dumps sewage illegally and has done for years as it is cheaper than fixing the problems that cause the pollution – cheaper because the Environment Agency takes no effective deterrent action. Also WASP’s analysis proves that Thames Water shareholders DID take dividends! WASP – What just happened?
27 April 2023 – South West Water have been fined a record £2.1 million a string of environmental offences between in Devon and Cornwall between 2016 and 2020 that are enough to make your stomach turn. Big Issue – Raw sewage, dead fish and E.coli: Record £2.1m fine for water pollution in Devon and Cornwall.
26 April 2023 – Gloucestershire business journal reports on Labour and other parties demanding a stop to dumping sewage in Gloucester and the River Chelt. Punchline – Labour kicks up a stink over Gloucester sewage scandal
25 April 2023 – Labour’s private member’s bill to set faster targets for reducing sewage dischargeswas all set to be made law until the government used parliamentary procedure to block the debating of this Opposition Day motion. In the morning it looks fine: Policy Mogul – Storm overflow target to be enshrined in law. But by evening the Tories had blocked it: East Anglia Bylines – Tories vote to continue sewage scandal.
25 April 2023 – The professional magazine for civil engineers reports that Anglian Water have started the tender process for the provision of £9 million worth of sewer monitoring sensors. Better late than never? New Civil Engineer – Anglian Water sets out sewer monitoring sensor plan to cut pollution incidents
24 April 2023 – Accidental sewage discharges do happen. In South Benfleet a valve malfunction spilled sewage onto local roads. Essex Live – Anglian Water sewage plant site spills waste on South Benfleet road after system valve fails
24 April 2023 – A report that getting homeowners to fit water butts could ‘fix’ our sewage problem is very misleading. There is physically no space on most properties to install water butts. Anyway most gardeners like to keep their water butts full so there is no retention of rain water. Finally most prolonged sewage discharges are due to high groundwater not rainstorms. iNews – How the UK’s sewage problem could be fixed with simple garden tools being tested on the Isle of Wight
24 April 2023 – Sewage pollution is now the main issue in the upcoming local elections. The Green Party wants water re-nationalised. The LibDems are calling for a ban on sewage at blue flag beaches. BBC – Local elections 2023: How sewage topped the political agenda
22 April 2023 – Labour plan ads like “Do you think it’s right to allow raw sewage to be dumped into our rivers and beaches 800 times a day? Rishi Sunak does.” if Tory MPs block Jim McMahon’s bill on monitoring sewage [which they did]. Daily Mirror – Labour planning local ad blitz if Tory MPs block sewage dumping crackdown plan
22 April 2023 – Feargal Sharkey tweets that – South West Water are over-abstracting more than 100m litres from the River Avon every day
22 April 2023 – In the heart of the Cotswolds, members of the Coln Residents Against Pollution in Bibury were joined by other passionate protestors from neighbouring towns and villages. ITV News – Bibury residents protest ‘shameful’ sewage pollution of River Coln.
21 April 2023 – In the North West United Utilities reduction in storm overflows is welcome but they are still the worst performing water company. North West Bylines – United Utilities sewage discharges are down – but what’s really going on?
21 April 2023 – In Manchester a plan to convert a field into a woodland is abandoned due soil contamination from United Utilities discharging sewage onto the field 135 times in the last year. The Guardian – Sewage-soaked field stops creation of new woodland in Greater Manchester.
20 April 2023 Sussex World – Southern Water explains 250 hour sewage release in Felpham
19 April 2023 World Economic Forum – UK waters are too polluted to swim in – but European countries offer answers
18 April 2023 Cheshire Live – Cyclist’s ‘sewage’ fears after ‘abhorrent’ sighting on River Dee
18 April 2023 The Telegraph – Water companies accused of sewage discharge cover-up by failing to fix faulty monitors
18 April 2023 This is Money – The big stink: Water firms making ‘a mockery’ of efforts to link bosses’ bonuses to pollution targets
17 April 2023 Big Issue North – Top of the Poops
17 April 2023 New Civil Engineer – England’s adoption of Schedule 3 is a watershed moment
17 April 2023 Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) – Combined sewer overflows – it’s time we cut the crap
17 April 2023 Loughborough University – UK waters are too polluted to swim in – but European countries offer answers
17 April 2023 Leicester Mercury – Questions raised over amount of raw sewage being emptied into Leicestershire waters
15 April 2023 Gloucestershire Live – Severn Trent blasted for ‘broken promises’ and ‘continuous sewage spills’ in Gloucestershire
14 April 2023 Sussex World – Pop star Feargal Sharkey shares Eastbourne water quality concerns
15 April 2023 Westbury People’s Gallery – The Shit Song Video
13 April 2023 Reading Chronicle – Reading: Charity furious at sewage dumping in Foudry Brook
13 April 2023 The Express – British seaside hit with sewage – full list of affected holiday hotspots
13 April 2023 The Guardian – More than 7,500 days’ worth of raw sewage dumped in ministers’ constituencies
12 April 2023 East Anglia Bylines – Victory and disappointment for River Deben campaigners
12 April 2023 The Times – Sewage dumped on shellfish without assessment, government admits
8 April 2023 The Sun – THAT STINKS Sewage pumped into waters at Britain’s popular seaside towns a stomach-churning 125,000 hours last year
7 April 2023 The Telegraph – Cotswolds has become sewage ‘dumping ground’.
4 April 2023 Mail Online – Is your favourite beach one of England’s sewage hotspots?
3 April 2023 Top of the Pops – 375,000 “sewage spills” into waterways in 2022, lasting 2,291,055 hours
3 April 2023 Bylines Cymru – Welsh rivers see some of the worst sewage dumping in the UK
