A map from the Rivers Trust shows the extent of sewage spills in our waterways.
According to the trust, sewage is discharged into rivers on a daily basis. One of the areas affected heavily in 2021 was St Helens, an area with a large canal running through the borough.
During periods of heavy rainfall, water companies discharge sewage into open waterways to prevent it from being backed up into people's homes.
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Figures from 2021 show that raw sewage was discharged into the waters of St Helens North for 5,706 hours in total. That is the equivalent of raw sewage being pumped into our waterways for more than half of the year.
St Helens North MP Conor McGinn reportedly found 1,081 counted sewage spills across the constituency, at around a spillage every eight hours. Last year's Governments Environment Bill was blasted as it was seen to vote down efforts from Labour to put pressure on companies from discharging sewage into waterways.
A statement from the Chief Medical Officer Chris Witty said: "Raw sewage from storm overflows and continuous discharge of waste containing viable organisms from sewage treatment works is an increasing problem. This is a serious public health issue for government and regulators and it is clear that the water companies are not doing enough. The public health dangers are in addition to the ecological and environmental impact which forms the basis for much regulation."
In a statement last year, Mr McGinn said: "The Conservative Government has blocked measures that would have stopped water companies from dumping raw sewage into our local rivers, lakes and streams.
"I’ll keep working with Feargal Sharkey and campaigners until we end this harmful and dangerous practice."
You can view an interactive map of the sewage dumped in waterways on the Rivers Trust site here.
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