Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.

UK environment agency knew of sewage dumps in rivers

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 2 Oct 2022 21:31
6 Min Read

The report leaked by a whistleblower shows that the Environmental Agency was aware of sewage dumps for the past ten years.

  • x
  • UK environment agency knew of sewage dumps in rivers
    Sewage dumped in rivers, UK

The Guardian reported on Sunday that a leaked report revealed that for the past ten years, the Environment Agency was aware that raw sewage from wastewater treatment works was being illegally dumped into English rivers.

Back in May, the agency’s chief executive, Sir James Bevan, had told parliament representatives that the practice had only surfaced very recently. He told the House of Commons environment, food, and rural affairs committee that “until recently, we have not had very good data about what is happening at sewage treatment works."

An inspection report for the northwest region dating back to 2012 showed that several sewage works owned by water company United Utilities were dumping raw sewage into rivers. The report further revealed that the company broke the conditions of its environmental permit as it failed to process the required amount of sewage.

In times of heavy rainfall and storms, water companies are generally permitted to release untreated sewage into rivers, lakes, and seas, but they can only do this when they are already treating a specified amount of sewage known as “flow to full treatment” (FtFT).

The report reveals that United Utilities received a £200,000 fine for breaking its conditions at the Cleator sewage works in Cumbria as it only processed 65% of the required sewage and the remaining was dumped into the nearby river.

Another 35 United Utilities works were suspected by the agency of dumping sewage while failing to meet the required amount of treated sewage. Some of the issues detected at nine Utilities Work had to do with FtFT at five different works as a result of problems with flow meters and an Archimedes screw, along with “erratic readings” and “gaps in flow data."

In November, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that a number of water companies confessed that “many of their sewage treatment works may not be compliant." It was later announced that Ofwat and the Environment Agency launched a series of investigations into sewage dumping.

This announcement was delivered shortly after Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (Wasp) campaigners disseminated the results of a study that showed many works were dumping raw sewage in dry conditions and treating sewage in insufficient amounts.

Bevan had told Defra MPs that this initiative came out of the Environment Agency’s insistence that water companies keep a watch on their sewage treatment works. This was thought of as a means to incite water companies to come forward about the non-compliance of their data.

“And it was that understanding, which only came to us, frankly, within the last 12 months, that led to the investigation that the Environment Agency is running … that appears to show significant and widespread breaches of … permits,” Bevan told the MPs.

Read more: Raw sewage pumped into Britain seas, rivers for 2.6 mln hrs. in 2021

Related News

Atlantic Ocean current collapse no longer unlikely, new study warns

US Air Force base linked to toxic PFAS in blood, water, and farms

One individual who worked on behalf of the Environment Agency admitted the report “highlights how common” the practice of dumping sewage is.

“This was known in 2012 when self-regulation was pushed and water quality monitoring, staffing and regulation was dramatically cut,” they added. “The agency had an opportunity to prevent over 10 years of illegal sewage dumping but chose not to take it, despite the funding being available. They knowingly permitted the illegal activity to continue.”

A spokesperson for the agency said the initiative “significantly driven up monitoring and transparency from water companies in recent years. In 2016, there were only 800 event duration monitors on storm overflows, and now there are more than 12,000. This data is allowing us to hold the industry to account on a scale never seen before."

Prof Peter Hammond, formerly visiting scientist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said that the event duration monitoring data hasn't been so reliable and that the government’s recently published plan to reduce sewage spills “relies on self-reporting of sewage spills by the water industry."

“Close scrutiny of submissions to the Environment Agency suggests water companies cannot be trusted to provide complete and correct spill data”, he said, adding that “the plan will fail unless the Environment Agency takes back control of all monitoring and dramatically improves its regulation."

Read more: UK fails to invest in water networks to avoid severe droughts

According to an Environment Agency spokesperson, a recent request for detailed data has been filed with more than 2,200 wastewater treatment works “as part of the biggest investigation we have ever undertaken into potential permit breaches – and where there is evidence of non-compliance we will not hesitate to pursue the water companies concerned and take appropriate action."

“We continue to take tens of thousands of water quality samples ourselves every year as part of our work to keep rivers clean, and we are also investing more this year to further advance our approach to sampling – and we have placed a wide range of new requirements on water companies to significantly increase their monitoring and reporting so that this data is available to all.”

A United Utilities representative said, “We pleaded guilty to five spills at Cleator wastewater treatment works a decade ago and were fined. Since then, we have had a clear plan to tackle these issues which has seen us invest millions of pounds installing more than 2,000 monitors and this has been an important factor in us achieving the top four-star environmental rating five times in the last seven years.”

Ash Smith, the founder of Wasp, said the water industry had “based its business success on ‘sweating the assets’ – not upgrading sewage works and dumping the sewage that it can’t treat into our rivers and seas, largely without interference from the Environment Agency."

He added that “the industry has become reliant on this often illegal activity to make profits and bonuses and to do this it needed the agency to let most of it go unpunished and unchecked.”

Data from the Environment Agency reveals that water companies reported dumping raw sewage into rivers and seas 372,544 times last year, for 2.6m hours - a figure, although high, is believed to be underreported.

Read more: Critics call UK strategy to tackle sewage discharges 'cruel joke'

  • Environment
  • Climate crisis
  • UK

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Australia warned of deadly climate risks in landmark report
Environment

Millions at risk from rising seas, extreme heat in Australia: Report

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un inspects a new weapons factory in undisclosed location, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, August 31, 2025 (AP)
Politics

DPRK defies US, says nuclear state status 'permanently enshrined'

Soldier F faces trial over bloody Sunday killings after 53 years
Miscellaneous

British Soldier F faces trial over Bloody Sunday killings after 53 yrs

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate at the University of Sydney to protest the Israel Hamas war, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Protest outside ABC decries media silence on Gaza journalist killings

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS