‘Residents in Devon told to boil water over risk of parasitic disease.’
‘Rowers in the Boat Race on the Thames warned not to swallow water.’
‘14 billion litres of sewage pumped into the Thames in central London last year.’
We’ve all seen recent headlines like these about water companies discharging sewage into our rivers, streams, and directly into the sea along our coastline. Last year there were record numbers of spills…. over 460,000. And quite rightly people are concerned about the effect on the environment and the health risks for those who enjoy swimming and other watersports. The presence of human waste in water can expose people to dangerous bacteria like E.Coli and salmonella, or parasites like cryptosporidium. These can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, liver damage and infections. According to the Environment Agency, only 45% of England’s coastal waters, and just 14% of our rivers and lakes, achieve a “good” ecological status.
So why is this happening?
Most of the UK has a combined sewerage system. So both rainwater and waste water from our homes – including our toilets – is carried down the same pipes to water treatment plants. And that can mean that in times of heavy rainfall, the system is unable to cope with the sheer volume of water. The safeguard to stop sewage works – and nearby homes – being flooded, is for excess water to either be stored in storm tanks, or discharged directly into the sea and rivers. But what many water companies are being accused of is discharging waste water from these storm tanks or directly into rivers and the sea even when there is no heavy rain. They have also been accused of not investing enough in sewage treatment works, meaning both a lack of capacity and failing infrastructure. And the regulators have been accused of not enforcing the law strongly enough. Blockages in the sewer system – like fatbergs – are also making the problem worse, because they reduce the capacity of the pipes.
Of course now that this issue has started to appear in more news stories, there seems to be more of a focus in – literally – cleaning up the industry. The Environment Act of 2021 now legally binds all water companies to provide transparent, year-round data on their sewage discharges. And we can all help in our own small way – for example by making sure nothing except the 3 P’s – pee, poo, and toilet paper – gets flushed down the toilet. Because at the moment, we just don’t know where it will end up!
