03 Jul 2024
More legal problems for the government, regulators and the water industry this week, including The Supreme Court ruling against United Utilities in appeal case on sewage discharges brought by Manchester Ship Canal Company. According to The Guardian, the ruling paves the way for businesses and public to sue water firms over sewage. The story is […]
26 Jun 2024
Lots more coverage of water quality and sewage overflows again this week. Just some of the coverage…. Labour and Lib Dems step up campaigns on sewage dumping (BBC) Revealed: the ‘catastrophic scale’ of sewage spills in England and Wales (Guardian) ‘Poo in the Water’: How Financial Engineering Sullied Britain’s Most Famous River (Wall Street Journal) […]
19 Jun 2024
A recent BBC explainer looks at the evidence around so-called ‘dry spills’, claiming that “every major English water company has reported data suggesting they’ve discharged raw sewage when the weather is dry – a practice which is potentially illegal.” Anglian Water responded by publishing De-mystifying dry day spills, rejecting the claims and ‘citing flawed methodology […]
19 Jun 2024
Reported in The Mirror online Competitors taking part in a triathlon which involved swimming in the River Thames have been struck down with vomiting and diarrhoea with some even rushed to hospital because they felt so unwell. A large group took part in the Royal Windsor Triathlon in Berkshire on Sunday, but a number said […]
12 Jun 2024
From the BBC More than one million tonnes of raw sewage is estimated to have been released from a pumping station into the North Sea in 2023. Northumbrian Water produced the estimate of how much sewage was released from its Whitburn site after a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from South Tyneside resident Steve Lavelle. […]
14 May 2024
A record number of swimming spots in England have been designated as bathing sites, the UK government has confirmed. There has been widespread coverage, including in BBC, ITV, The Guardian, Independent and Sky, of the government’s announcement that 27 new bathing water sites will be designated across England. The decision follows a public consultation last year. The Environment Agency […]
01 May 2024
This 3-minute piece on Channel 4 News Is critical of the Environment Agency testing regime for bathing waters, because some test results are discounted. Blurb Earlier this year, an investigation by this programme led to calls for a change to the system that’s meant to warn swimmers in England about pollution linked to sewage. We […]
24 Apr 2024
A Guardian investigation has spoken to whistleblowers who say UK water companies are knowingly failing to treat legally required amounts of sewage, and that some treatment works are manipulating wastewater systems to divert raw sewage away from the works and into rivers and seas. It is well known that water companies are dumping large volumes […]
Prev