BBC says sewage pipelines planned for unprotected rivers

The BBC reports that water companies are planning to build a pipeline network to move treated sewage away from conservation areas and into rivers, lakes and seas which do not have the same legal protection.

Photo credit: Gavin Young

The work will be funded by customers and the water regulator, Ofwat, has provisionally said bills would rise by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030.

Billions of pounds could be spent on the nationwide projects – including 10 schemes being planned by Severn Trent Water.

Water companies say the investment is part of their plans to reduce the amount of sewage which ends up in our waterways.

People who live and work along the proposed routes say they are devastated, with one farmer, George Rowe, stating: “It will be as bad as HS2 for the countryside.”