Raw Sewage Discharge in Our Rivers
Today I heard on the radio about the increase in raw sewage discharge in our rivers in the UK. I immediately went online to read up more about it, especially as a local river, The River Test, an extremely beautiful river and one of only 12 chalk streams which is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and one of only 6 which supports the Atlantic Salmon, is under enormous threat from the action taken by not only our water companies but also our government.
I read this article in the Guardian (Water companies in England face outrage over record sewage discharges | Water | The Guardian) and it is shocking to read some of the facts:
“As well as total discharges soaring from just over 301,000 in 2022, the average discharge per storm overflow has increased to 33, an increase of more than 43.7%.
Some companies had much higher average spills per outflow, with South West Water averaging 43 per outflow and United Utilities 45.”
and
“The government’s much vaunted plan to tackle raw sewage pollution gives water companies a deadline of 2035 to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into bathing water and areas of ecological importance, but discharges would continue being released into other waterways until 2050, at a time when climate change is increasing rainfall intensity and frequency, putting more strain on the sewerage system.”
Thankfully it seems Water UK are making great steps to work with water companies to find solutions but is it soon enough? 2050 feels too far away and we need some more immediate solutions.
Water UK has a useful interactive map to show where the National Storm Overflows plan are: National Storm Overflows Plan | Water UK
What is the solution? Well one idea is for water companies to use a solution such as ThinTanks (ThinTanks UK Limited), where they can use them to store excess rain water when the storm drains are overwhelmed.
Multiple Thintanks