An Update on the Increasing Sewage Pollution Contaminating British Shores

As we headed into the new millennium, it looked like the UK might finally lose its title of ‘the dirty man of Europe’, gained due to its slimy rivers, sewage-strewn beaches and thick air pollution. Many believed that the issue of sewage pollution was fading into the distance, yet unfortunately, over the last few years, water companies seem to be clogging our rivers and dirtying our beaches at an increasing rate.

Despite several decades of hard work to boost water quality, water users in the UK are just as likely to become ill from sewage and pollutants as they were in the 1990s. Astonishingly, regular water users are three times more likely to have antibiotic resistant e-coli in their guts compared to those who skip a swim. In fact, taking a dip in dirty water is known to lead to a plethora of human health impacts, including sore throats, ear infections and gastroenteritis. It is not just humans impacted either but our wide variety of freshwater and marine species which call the British Isles home.

In 2021, England’s water companies suffered their worst environmental performance in years and over the last year, there has been on average 825 sewage spills into English rivers and onto beaches per day. So why is the UK such as large polluter? The current sewage system was actually designed and built by the Victorians and a lack of funding ever since has meant only minor modifications have taken place rather than the enormous overhaul which is needed. The current system sees rainwater and wastewater from houses and businesses collected together and travel down the same pipes. In cases of heavy rainfall, this means that sewage treatment plants simply cannot cope with the level of water and in order to avoid the risk of the pipes becoming overloaded and water bubbling back up into houses, they release the untreated water into natural waterways. As our population increases, water use rockets and the severity of storms increase, the instances in which water companies struggle to cope become more and more common.

In the UK, releasing untreated sewage in these instances of extreme demand and rainfall is actually legal. The release of sewage into the environment crosses the line to become illegal if conditions are dry or if companies are not treating a high enough percentage of their waste. However, many campaigners and environmental groups argue that the government is failing to enforce harsh enough limits and penalties on water companies. Currently, the maximum fine for unnecessarily releasing untreated wastewater is £250,000, which for many enormous national corporations is actually cheaper than the cost of treating the water. For years, people have campaigned for fines to be increased so that they actually have a real impact on these polluting companies. The government is set to announce any day now whether they will be introducing unlimited fines in the future. The money from these larger fines is thought to be re-invested right back into the ecosystems that suffer most from illegal dumping under the Water Restoration Plan. This could include the restoration of wetlands, creation of new habitats in species-rich areas or it could be put towards managing rivers more sustainably. Some members of parliament even want to go as far as to introduce prison sentences for the chief executives and board members who approve the non-essential release of sewage whilst also striking off company directors so they are unable to move up their careers ladders.

Despite these threats however, the last couple of years have seen sewage pollution rise to particularly high levels. Whilst the reported numbers show that sewage spills are down 19% on last year, this is thought to be due to having a drier season, rather than any deliberate action being taken. During the 2022 bathing season which runs May to September, 5,000 sewage spills occurred in areas which are designated as bathing areas and therefore under monitoring which allows the public to be sure they are swimming in safe waters. The Environment Agency found that the majority of the monitors installed at these beaches were actually broken, whilst some had never even been installed at all. This reluctance from water companies to be transparent about their activities is placing the general public and our natural environments at risk as we cannot be certain about when or how much pollution is being emitted. With water company CEOs taking home £16.5 million last year and paying their shareholders £965 million, it seems that money is not the reason they are failing to meet environmental standards.

In a bid to improve this issue, the UK government has set a target to invest £56 billion over the next 25 years in order to modernise the sewage infrastructure. In addition, they are also pushing for all storm overflows to have monitoring systems in place by the end of 2023. One area where this is already taking place is the River Severn where 80 monitors are being placed along the length of the river. During storms, these devices will provide readings every 15 minutes on the level of sewage being released. However, for many people in this area, these actions have come too late for their liking. There are many ways in which people can spend their leisure time along this river, from fishing to paddleboarding, swimming to surfing the famous Severn Bore. Yet poor water quality is affecting all of these pursuits and has led to some local residents refusing to pay the portion of their water bill which relates to waste water services. They believe that water companies clearly only care about their profits and so are trying to make an impact on what they care about most. Others in the region have joined marches or rallied to get the support of their local MP in a bid to get more urgent action from the government.

In fact, across the UK, there has been an enormous public response to the increases in sewage discharges with protests and marches held on beaches across the country. Watersports have seen a boom in the UK over recent years as activities such as paddleboarding have grown in popularity whilst an increasing number of people turned to wild swimming as a way to connect with nature and boost health during lockdown. This passion for their hobbies has turned into a love of the natural world and a fierce devotion to protect it from human harm. In some areas, this determination has seen communities submit their local swimming spots to the government to be approved as official bathing waters. This means these waters must be monitored officially throughout the bathing season, allowing data on the level of pollution released by water companies. Some of the newest designations include stretches of the River Wharfe in Yorkshire and the River Thames in Oxford. Yet eight other proposed river sites have been refused with no explanation yet are in desperate need of better protection as 75% of UK rivers pose a serious threat to human health. Whilst France has over 1,000 designated inland swimming spots, the UK has only two, highlighting the government’s lack of real commitment to this issue.

Others are tired of waiting for the government to take action and have started monitoring pollution themselves. Many are swapping their fishing lines and canoes for chemistry sets as they take to inland waterways to measure chemical pollutants. They are looking for elements such as nitrates and phosphorus which can indicate how much pollution is present in the water. These chemicals come from sewage but also fertilisers and agricultural slurry, with farm pollutants travelling in rainwater being another significant contributor to poor water quality. In areas where nitrates and phosphorous are high, algal blooms can occur where weeds and algae grow at a rapid rate. This blocks sunlight and drains oxygen from the water which leads to the death of local fish and insects. With official monitoring schemes being underfunded and outdated, these community-led citizen science initiatives are filling an important gap in our understanding of water quality, providing the data needed as evidence to prove the harmful activities being carried out by water companies.

If you would like to get involved in the fight to boost the health of UK waters, you can join the league of citizen scientists heading out into the environment. Earthwatch is just one organisation which provides training on how to do this. You can also show your support by engaging with environmental groups, protest marches and petitions or maybe you can even submit your local spot to be considered as an official bathing site. If you are worried about entering the water where there may be pollution, you can view the of websites of Surfers Against Sewage and The Rivers Trust which have interactive up to date maps detailing recent pollution spills across the country on both beaches and rivers.

By Neve McCracken-Heywood