Aging infrastructure, underinvestment by water utilities, population growth, increased industrial demand on the system, and heavy rainfalls due to climate change overwhelm UK sewers, spilling them into its waterways.
Privatization of waterworks began during Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government in 1989 and continued after the 2008 financial crisis, which slashed the budgets for water regulators.
The scale of sewage dumping in waterways became apparent during the COVID-19 lockdown as outdoor activities like swimming and canoeing became popular. People started noticing the smell of poo, seeing toilet paper and other waste floating in the streams and on beaches which led to a public outcry.
Private water utilities have been quickly blamed for underinvesting in water infrastructure and prioritizing shareholder dividends instead, a practice underpinned by the country’s culture of poor regulation.
Nick Kirsop-Taylor, an environmental policy lecturer at the University of Exeter, says Britain had an anti-regulatory culture that dates to the 1970s and 80s, but this changed when it joined the European Union. However, the country has been backsliding since it left the EU in 2016.
Heavier rainfall linked to climate change has forced water companies to discharge sewage more often; otherwise, the overwhelmed pipes will backflow into people’s homes.
According to the Environment Agency, untreated sewage discharges increased by more than 50% last year from the previous one to a record 464,000 spills. The cumulative duration of the spills doubled to 3.6 million hours.
While sewage releases are legal during periods of rain, their frequency has faced scrutiny, and fingers are pointed towards The Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, for not ensuring that infrastructure is updated. Water utilities also blame Ofwat for not allowing them to raise water rates needed to upgrade infrastructure. Ofwat, in turn, noted that companies have slashed their improvement budgets by 25% since 2020.
The BBC reports that Ofwat has proposed fines totaling £168m for the three water utilities – Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Northumbrian Water as part of its largest-ever investigation into sewage spills.
Most of the UK has a combined sewerage system, meaning stormwater and wastewater flow into the same pipes. Wastewater is usually sent to sewage treatment works. Still, the system can exceed its capacity during heavy rainfall, so it is designed to overflow and release excess wastewater from the combined sewer overflows.
According to Ofwat, some water companies have routinely released sewage outside of heavy rainfall. Without rain to dilute the waste, a higher concentration of sewage entering the waterways is produced, and, therefore, it is illegal.
Below is a BBC image of a dry spill.
How clean are the UK waters in general?
Research from the Environment Agency in May 2023 said that 16% of assessed surface waters in England achieved “good” ecological status, including:
14% of rivers and lakes, 19% of estuaries, 45% of coastal waters, and 93% of designated bathing waters. However, water quality in other parts of the UK is better. In Scotland, around two-thirds of surface water is given “good” ecological status; in Wales, the figure is 40%, and in Northern Ireland it is 31%.
The article shows how underinvestment in water infrastructure in Britain leads to the contamination of its waterways, which could have profound health implications for both people and the environment.
Tackling the sewage spill problem
In April 2023, the previous conservative government announced its plan to improve water quality, including investing £60 billion over 25 years to upgrade aging assets and reduce the number of sewage spills by hundreds of thousands every year.
It also made £74 million available to help farmers invest in improved slurry infrastructure to tackle water pollution, quadrupled the number of inspections by the Environmental Agency to water companies, and many others.
Water UK, the industry body, announced plans on behalf of its members to almost double spending to pay for upgrades and cut sewage discharges. Customer bills would have to rise by £156 annually to cover the cost.
The new labor government has announced a series of proposed reforms, promising consumers higher compensation for sewage failures and the power to hold executives to account. It plans to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives.
Sources:
Melley, B. (2024, June 21). Sewage contamination of British waterways reveals infrastructure problems ahead of election. PBS. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/sewage-contamination-of-british-waterways-reveals-infrastructure-problems-ahead-of-election
How much raw sewage is released into rivers and the sea? (2024, August 6). BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-62631320
Combined Sewer Overflows Explained. (2020, July 2). Environment Agency. Retrieved from https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2020/07/02/combined-sewer-overflows-explained/
Steps to improve water quality in England. (2024, May 23). Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Retrieved from https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/23/steps-to-improve-water-quality-in-england/
Government introduces new bill to clean up water sector. (2024, July 18). Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Retrieved from https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/07/18/government-introduces-new-bill-to-clean-up-water-sector/
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