The region's water and sewage company have defended figures that appear to show a staggering rise in the level of raw sewage discharged into Northumberland's rivers and seas.
Figures obtained by Northumberland Labour via a Freedom of Information request showed that since 2016, raw sewage has been pumped into the environment across the Northumbrian Water area for a total of 551,851 hours - or 62 years.
The data appears to show that there has been a 4,309 per cent increase in the total duration of storm drain overflows since 2016 - but Northumbrian Water has said this is due to the fact that it has significantly upped its capacity to monitor the issue.
This is shown by the number of monitored spills, which went up from 2,433 in 2017 to 36,483 last year - an increase of 1,399 per cent.
NWL serves a wide area, ranging from Berwick in the north down as far as Middlesbrough and wider Teeside. A statement from the company responding to the figures said discharges were actually going down.
A spokeswoman for Northumbrian Water said: "It’s not accurate to say that there has been a 1000% increase in the number of spills from storm overflows since 2016.
“Investment and improvements in the network mean that discharges are generally decreasing over time and real progress is being made in improving monitoring, cutting pollutions and increasing transparency.
“In recent years, we have rolled out a programme of installing monitors, with 99% of our overflows now covered, and we are on track to reach 100% well in advance of the regulatory deadline in December 2023. This increase in monitoring has helped ensure those who enjoy using our water are better informed than ever before, and we are also working towards making this data near real-time in 2023.
“We have also invested heavily in upgrades to our wastewater network in the last two decades and continue to do so. More than £80 million of investment is targeted towards improvements related to storm overflows in our current 2020-25 operating period.”
The discharge of raw sewage by water companies has been the subject of much debate in recent months after Conservative MPs voted down an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have forced water companies to reduce discharges.
Tory MPs argued that the amendment was uncosted and badly worded, and could have cost customers more in water bills due to the infrastructure costs. However, the decision has been strongly criticised by opposition parties and the public.
Jim McMahon, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The Tories continuing to allow sewage dumping onto our beaches and into our waters isn’t just a destruction of our natural environment, it’s also a significant public health hazard.
“Families flock to the Northumberland’s coast to enjoy the British summer. They shouldn’t have to worry about being able to enjoy its coastal hotspots or whether they are swimming in sewage infested waters.
“The Northumberland’s Tory MPs that voted against putting a stop to raw sewage discharge must explain to their constituents why they failed to protect their local beauty spots. Labour will clean up the Tories’ mess by ensuring water bosses are held accountable both legally and financially for their recklessness, through enforcement of unlimited fines, and tougher regulations that prevent them from gaming the system.”
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