UK

PRIVATIZED WATER SERVICES

Thames Valley rivers used as overflow for sewage

3rd January 2024
By Bethan Nimmo

BBC

Oxfordshire Political Reporter

Thames Water said many of their sewage treatment works have been impacted by Storm Henk

Sewage has been discharged into rivers at nearly 270 sites across the Thames in one week, data from a water firm has revealed.

Figures from Thames Water show some overflows have been pumping untreated, raw, sewage into its waterways for more than 100 hours.

A spokesperson for the water company said many of their sewage treatment works have been impacted by Storm Henk.

An expert said he is "shocked" the rivers have been used like a sewer.

Thames Water uses the rivers as an overflow for when its sewer systems are overwhelmed by rainfall.

Dr Alex Lipp, an environmental scientist at the University of Oxford, created a website to show where the sewage is being pumped in and where it ends up.

He has been tracking the data released by Thames Water and believes it's been one of the worst weeks for sewage spills in the region.

He said there had been 229 sewage overflows discharging simultaneously on Tuesday, which has only been beaten once in November 2023.

 

The water firm said it regards all sewage discharges as "unacceptable" after figures showed almost 270 sites had been impacted in one week

Dr Lipp said it's "upsetting" to see this issue happening and raised concerns about the impact on wildlife.

He explained that alongside the "normal" contents of the toilet, the sewage going into the rivers also contains pesticides, pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs.

"They form a chemical cocktail in waterways. Actually, because a lot of these chemicals are relatively novel, we don't really know the impact these have, especially when mixed together, on aquatic organisms," he explained.

"It is just frankly shocking that in the 21st Century we are just discharging raw sewage, it is upsetting."

'Unacceptable'

Thames Water has been providing real-time monitoring on sewage overflows across the Thames basin since last year.

A spokesperson for the firm said they regard all discharges as "unacceptable" and plans were in place to upgrade 250 of its sewage treatment works and sewers.

They added: "Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we want to lead the way with our transparent approach to data."

Thames Water is believed to be the first company to provide live alerts for all untreated discharges throughout its region, the spokesperson continued.

They explained: "This 'near real-time' data is available to customers as a map on our website and is also available through an open data platform for third parties, such as swimming and environmental groups to use."

Water company criticised over waterways pollution