Sewage releases breaching conditions more than doubled last year

Water companies are releasing sewage at times when they are not allowed to hundreds of times a year, new data show.

The number of sewage releases breaching permit conditions more than doubled from 273 in 2021, to 554 in 2022, an increase described as a “national scandal”.

The worst offender was Southern Water, with 195 permit breaches in 2022 – up from 77 the year before.

Water companies are permitted to release sewage when their overflow systems are under stress, such as during heavy rain, to stop it from backing up into people’s homes.

They are expected to report to the Environment Agency (EA) when their sewage overflows occur at other times, which can often happen when sewers become blocked.

The regulator is expected to act over repeated breaches, which can lead to prosecution.

In response to a parliamentary question by the Liberal Democrats, Rebecca Pow, the environment minister, admitted that there were 392 breaches over unauthorised sewage discharges in the past two years that were not linked to rainfall or snowmelt.

Southern Water was again the worst offender, with 119 sewage discharges that breached its permit.

‘The whole thing stinks’

“This is a national scandal. These polluting firms are breaching their permits on a daily basis and getting away with it, all whilst pocketing massive profits. Frankly, the whole thing stinks,” Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, said.

“The public won’t stand for this much longer. Ministers need to listen to the country and end this environmental scandal.”

The EA and Ofwat are currently investigating all water companies over potential breaches of their environmental permits at around 2,000 sewage treatment works.

The EA can impose unlimited fines if it brings criminal proceedings, while Ofwat can fine companies up to 10 per cent of their turnover.

Ms Pow said: “We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and, where breaches are found, we will not hesitate to hold companies to account”.

A Southern Water spokesman said: “We are investing £2 billion between 2020 and 2025 to improve our performance.”

Water UK, the industry body, said: “Data from the Environment Agency shows compliance with permits is very high, including 99 per cent compliance at sewage works. Breaches of overflow permits are rare, and these figures suggest they have reduced by almost 60 per cent since 2020.”