An expert has warned water bills may have to be raised to fix sewage ending up in Britain's rivers and the sea. Channel 4 Dispatches recent probe alleged water companies dumped raw sewage in UK rivers and seas more than 1,000 times a day on average in 2021.
The companies told the Channel 4 Dispatches probe they were working with the Environment Agency to ensure the correct permits were in place for all storm overflows which discharge waste into bodies of water, reports the Mirror. Presenter Jimmy Doherty, said: "The 12 companies responsible for treating waste water in the UK dumped raw sewage into our rivers and seas more than a 1,000 times a day on average last year - that's raw sewage, toilet paper, used wet wipes, sanitary towels - definitely not the type of stuff you want to go swimming in."
Severn Trent, Northumbrian and Welsh Water told Channel 4 they were 'working proactively with the Environment Agency to ensure the correct permits are in place for all storm overflows.'"
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Investigators also claimed Severn Trent may be using 420 'illegal' discharge pipes which are polluting waters with sewage. Severn Trent told Nottinghamshire Live that the interpretation of the data was not accurate.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “The interpretation of this data is not accurate. Permits can be at varying stages of an administration process and we work through this standard rolling programme with the Environment Agency. Severn Trent is consistently recognised as a leading UK water company and has been awarded the very highest 4-star status by the Environment Agency for the last three years. We also achieved the highest percentage of targets across the sector with 86% of measures successfully delivered including leakage, pollutions and biodiversity."
Alastair Chisholm, from the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management, suggested regulators shared the blame for the wider sewage problem and warned a cost rise may be needed to fix the overcapacity system. "Ofwat are the economic regulator and their priorities historically have very much been making sure water bills stay affordable, making sure the water companies are managing their finances in a way that enables them to discharge their statutory duties properly, if they were discharging their responsibilities then we wouldn't be seeing all of these sewage spills.
"Infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, that's obviously a big thing - the cost of that is estimated by Government at another £65 on your water bill per year but at the moment internally Government are saying that any policy that is going to get taken forward must not add to the cost of living crisis." When questioned over the consequences of not carrying out these works, Mr Chisholm added: "We're going to keep having rivers and seas receiving a whole load of sewage."
The annual EA budget for enforcement has fallen from £11.6million to £7m since 2010. In the Channel 4 programme, the Environment Agency said: "Water companies have rightly been condemned for allowing far too many sewage spills and we are holding the industry to account on a unprecedented scale. We operate within a tight budget and must prioritise to ensure we are doing the best we can.
Dispatches presenter Jimmy Doherty said Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice MP had declined to take part in the programme. All three are being investigated by the Government's office for Environmental Protection.
An Ofwat spokesperson told Channel 4's Dispatches: "We take out responsibilities on the environment extremely seriously and are pushing companies to do the same, where we find where companies have fallen short we will act. Over the last five years we have imposed penalties and payments of over £250m."
A Government spokesperson told Channel 4's Dispatches: "Water companies reliance on overflows in unacceptable and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a property. Under new plans they will face strict limits and must completely eliminate the harms sewage discharges cause to the environment."
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