UK
Fury as sewage dumped in shellfish water by water companiesAnalysis by the Liberal Democrats has found sewage was dumped into waters containing shellfish a staggering 29,000 times last year.
Daniel Clark
Content Editor & Politics Reporter
22 AUG 2022
Fishermen loading shellfish
Monitors being used for measuring the amount of sewage being pumped into the sea across the UK are faulty or not even installed, the Liberal Democrats have said. Environment Agency data shows water companies are failing to monitor sewage discharges along the coast, including at seaside resorts, according to the party’s analysis.
It comes as dozens of pollution warnings were put in place across beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales last week, after heavy rain overwhelmed sewer systems, leading water companies to release sewage into the natural environment. Ministers are facing growing calls to clamp down on the water firms who are being criticised for not investing money back into the UK’s outdated water infrastructure.
Boris Johnson’s father has blamed his son’s administration for the sewage problem. In an interview with the Prime Minister’s sister, Rachel Johnson, on LBC radio, Stanley Johnson said: “We have to blame the Government for not pressing this matter as hard as it should’ve done.”
The Liberal Democrats said water companies have either installed Event Duration Monitors (EDMs) – devices which measure the number and length of sewage dumps from storm overflows – that do not work 90% of the time or have not been installed at
The party found that 1,802 monitors installed by water companies across the UK did not work for at least 90% of the time, while there were no monitors installed during 1,717 storm overflows. In total, 24% of sewage discharges went unmonitored last year, it said.
Anglian Water has the highest rate of failure, with 49% of all its sewage discharges not measured due to faulty or no monitors installed, according to the party. This is followed by South West Water with 30% and Severn Trent Water with 29%.
One in eight of South West Water’s sewage monitors installed at designated bathing locations across Cornwall and Devon are either faulty or not installed, the party said.
It comes as analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found sewage was dumped into waters containing shellfish a staggering 29,000 times last year. The party has raised fears this could be taking place again this summer.
This equates to 207,013 hours worth of sewage in shellfish waters in England in just one year alone. The worst offenders were South West, Southern Water and Anglian Water.
Liberal Democrats have called for a Sewage Tax on water companies, after firms which pump sewage into lakes and rivers made over £2.8 billion in profits. The tax on their profits would produce a fund worth hundreds of millions to prevent sewage polluting rivers.
In Parliament Lib Dem MPs backed amendments to the Environment Bill to end sewage discharges. However, this was blocked by Conservative MPs who voted against sewage discharges into rivers and coastlines being banned.
Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment said: "England’s treasured shellfish, our prawn, crayfish, lobsters and crabs, are the forgotten victims of this environmental scandal.
“The past week we’ve seen our beaches closed because of these polluting water companies. All the while, they are raking in billions of pounds in profits and forking out eye-watering bonuses to their CEOs. Frankly, the whole thing stinks.
“Why aren't Government Ministers listening to the public on this? They are ignoring the country's outrage at this scandal.
“Conservative MPs voted against a ban on sewage dumping. That means right now water companies are still pumping disgusting sewage into the homes of shellfish.”
Mr Farron added: “These water companies could be guilty of gross negligence by failing to install sewage monitors. This is a national scandal and these new figures stink of a cover-up. Britain’s seaside resorts are being swamped by foul sewage yet the Government is nowhere to be found. Why on earth are Conservative ministers letting them get away with this?
“Sussex has been devastated in recent days by disgraceful sewage dumps because of Southern Water. The CEO of Southern Water should go to Seaford to check on this sewage monitor immediately. The public needs to know how safe, if at all, popular beaches are for swimming.”
In response to the issue, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a response last week outlining the action it is taking.
Water minister Steve Double, the MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: “We are the first government to take action to tackle sewage overflows. We have been clear that water companies’ reliance on overflows is unacceptable and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority.
“This is on top of ambitious action we have already taken, including consulting on targets to improve water quality which will act as a powerful tool to deliver cleaner water, pushing all water companies to go further and faster to fix overflows. Work on tackling sewage overflows continues at pace and we will publish our plan in line with the September 1 statutory deadline.
Monitors being used for measuring the amount of sewage being pumped into the sea across the UK are faulty or not even installed, the Liberal Democrats have said. Environment Agency data shows water companies are failing to monitor sewage discharges along the coast, including at seaside resorts, according to the party’s analysis.
It comes as dozens of pollution warnings were put in place across beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales last week, after heavy rain overwhelmed sewer systems, leading water companies to release sewage into the natural environment. Ministers are facing growing calls to clamp down on the water firms who are being criticised for not investing money back into the UK’s outdated water infrastructure.
Boris Johnson’s father has blamed his son’s administration for the sewage problem. In an interview with the Prime Minister’s sister, Rachel Johnson, on LBC radio, Stanley Johnson said: “We have to blame the Government for not pressing this matter as hard as it should’ve done.”
The Liberal Democrats said water companies have either installed Event Duration Monitors (EDMs) – devices which measure the number and length of sewage dumps from storm overflows – that do not work 90% of the time or have not been installed at
The party found that 1,802 monitors installed by water companies across the UK did not work for at least 90% of the time, while there were no monitors installed during 1,717 storm overflows. In total, 24% of sewage discharges went unmonitored last year, it said.
Anglian Water has the highest rate of failure, with 49% of all its sewage discharges not measured due to faulty or no monitors installed, according to the party. This is followed by South West Water with 30% and Severn Trent Water with 29%.
One in eight of South West Water’s sewage monitors installed at designated bathing locations across Cornwall and Devon are either faulty or not installed, the party said.
It comes as analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found sewage was dumped into waters containing shellfish a staggering 29,000 times last year. The party has raised fears this could be taking place again this summer.
This equates to 207,013 hours worth of sewage in shellfish waters in England in just one year alone. The worst offenders were South West, Southern Water and Anglian Water.
Liberal Democrats have called for a Sewage Tax on water companies, after firms which pump sewage into lakes and rivers made over £2.8 billion in profits. The tax on their profits would produce a fund worth hundreds of millions to prevent sewage polluting rivers.
In Parliament Lib Dem MPs backed amendments to the Environment Bill to end sewage discharges. However, this was blocked by Conservative MPs who voted against sewage discharges into rivers and coastlines being banned.
Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment said: "England’s treasured shellfish, our prawn, crayfish, lobsters and crabs, are the forgotten victims of this environmental scandal.
“The past week we’ve seen our beaches closed because of these polluting water companies. All the while, they are raking in billions of pounds in profits and forking out eye-watering bonuses to their CEOs. Frankly, the whole thing stinks.
“Why aren't Government Ministers listening to the public on this? They are ignoring the country's outrage at this scandal.
“Conservative MPs voted against a ban on sewage dumping. That means right now water companies are still pumping disgusting sewage into the homes of shellfish.”
Mr Farron added: “These water companies could be guilty of gross negligence by failing to install sewage monitors. This is a national scandal and these new figures stink of a cover-up. Britain’s seaside resorts are being swamped by foul sewage yet the Government is nowhere to be found. Why on earth are Conservative ministers letting them get away with this?
“Sussex has been devastated in recent days by disgraceful sewage dumps because of Southern Water. The CEO of Southern Water should go to Seaford to check on this sewage monitor immediately. The public needs to know how safe, if at all, popular beaches are for swimming.”
In response to the issue, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a response last week outlining the action it is taking.
Water minister Steve Double, the MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: “We are the first government to take action to tackle sewage overflows. We have been clear that water companies’ reliance on overflows is unacceptable and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority.
“This is on top of ambitious action we have already taken, including consulting on targets to improve water quality which will act as a powerful tool to deliver cleaner water, pushing all water companies to go further and faster to fix overflows. Work on tackling sewage overflows continues at pace and we will publish our plan in line with the September 1 statutory deadline.
Rachel and Stanley Johnson blame Boris Johnson for sewage shame – This pic sums it up
"So LBC has Rachel Johnson interviewing her father Stanley about the policies of her brother the prime minister. And some people claim the UK is rife with nepotism...:"
by Joe Mellor
2022-08-22
The Government’s failure to control the water industry is to blame for the “sorry mess” of sewage pumped into Britain’s beaches, an environmental campaigner has said.
In case you have missed it, here’s one beach closed off to the public as raw sewage is pumped into the sea.
Sharkey
Feargal Sharkey said three decades of poorly regulated profiteering among water companies and a “vacuum of political oversight” had resulted in a state of “extraordinary chaos”.
Reacting to reports that monitors being used for measuring the levels of sewage in the sea are faulty, he warned that beach-goers have no clear picture of the amount of waste in the water they swim in.
Mr Sharkey told BBC Breakfast: “It appeared yesterday that over the last six years water companies have now spent almost nine and a half million hours dumping sewage into the environment.
“And if the data is as faulty as it seems, that number could be a multiple of that by another multiplier of your choosing.
“It’s just a desperate sign of the extraordinary state of chaos that this industry has managed to get itself into.”
Stanley and Rachel
The Johnson family have also turned on Boris Johnson’s government for letting our waterways become polluted.
Rachel interviewed her dad, yes really, Stanley Johnson, and they seemed to blame Boris for the environmental crisis on our coastlines and river systems.
Before we get there, this picture shared by Toby Earle might sum up the Johnson bonanza on LBC.
The Johnson family have also turned on Boris Johnson’s government for letting our waterways become polluted.
Rachel interviewed her dad, yes really, Stanley Johnson, and they seemed to blame Boris for the environmental crisis on our coastlines and river systems.
Before we get there, this picture shared by Toby Earle might sum up the Johnson bonanza on LBC.
So over to Stanley who tells his daughter
that the increase of sewage in UK’s waterways means:
“I would say we have to blame the Government!”
Reactions
It seems like the Johnson closed loop system was
becoming murkier by the minute.
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Related: Oh the irony! Tory MPs call for a stop to sewage being dumped in the sea
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