London Rivers Suffering From Toxic Sewage Spills, Calls for Tougher Government Action

Sewage pouring into London’s rivers for almost 7,000 hours last year has been revealed by the Environment Agency’s data.

The Thames was polluted by 769 toxic spills, lasting a total of 3,286 hours, whereas River Roding had the second-highest sewage releases in the capital with 237.

In total, 31 London waterways saw 1,809 discharges lasting 6,968 hours.

Thames Water has been fined tens of millions of pounds over the past five years for leaking untreated sewage, and its CEO Sarah Bentley has vowed to spend a record £1.6bn on upgrading sewage treatment works and sewers.

The UK government is facing more pressure to take strict action against firms responsible for sewage dumping, as it has already announced plans for unlimited fines for firms that discharge sewage into rivers and seas.

Under further proposals, the companies will face legally binding targets to reduce their sewage discharges.

Water companies are permitted to release untreated sewage in “exceptional circumstances”, such as heavy rainfall, but can be acting illegally if they dump untreated sewage into rivers when the weather conditions are dry or do not treat sufficient waste before disposal.

Thérèse Coffey, the Environment Secretary, announced that water companies must reduce their spills to all designated bathing water and 75% of high-priority sites, including conservation areas by 2035.

Richmond Park MP, Sarah Olney, accused the government of “putting their heads in the sand to block calls for reform at every turn” and called for tougher regulations to stop sewage dumping, which has endangered public health and polluted the environment.