11 Dec 2024
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. The work will be funded by customers and the water regulator, Ofwat, has provisionally said bills would rise by an […]
06 Nov 2024
A report by sustainability think tank the Institute for European Environmental Policy UK (IEEP UK) looks at the implications of diverging wastewater policy between the UK and the EU. Photo credit: Joseph Russo EU law concerning collection and treatment of wastewater (sewage) has been dominated by the 1991 Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. […]
23 Oct 2024
A water company repeatedly dumped millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into one of England’s most famous lakes over a three-year period, the BBC can reveal. More than 140 million litres of waste were pumped into Windermere between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not permitted, our analysis shows, and United Utilities […]
22 Oct 2024
Research conducted by the Marine Conservation Society and the University of Portsmouth has revealed that sewage discharges are a significant source of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) pollution in marine environments. PFAS also known as ‘forever chemicals’ are a complex group of nearly 15,000 substances used in consumer products around the world since the 1950s. […]
28 Aug 2024
The March for Clean Water will be held in London on 26 October to press the government to do more to clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas. Activist Feargal Sharkey is heading up the protest, which has been organised by River Action and backed by a growing number of environmental, sports and community groups. […]
21 Aug 2024
According to The Guardian, the Environment Agency is planning to amend the Environmental Performance Assessment, tightening the rules to stop water companies from using the current highest four-star ratings to justify high CEO pay. The newspaper says that bosses presiding over companies found to “recklessly” discharge sewage have been able to justify their large pay packets because of being […]
13 Aug 2024
A Conservative minister repeatedly tried to stop England’s environment regulator from publishing data showing a sharp rise in recorded sewage spills into waterways, according to emails obtained by Unearthed. The Environment Agency (EA) is obliged by law to publish annual statistics on how often overflow pipes released sewage into rivers and seas, and how long the […]
13 Aug 2024
United Utilities has repurposed tanks at its Ambleside and Windermere wastewater treatment works to create an additional 2.6 million litres of storage across the two sites. As a result of upgrades at both sites, the tanks were redundant and able to be repurposed into storm tanks after the installation of some new equipment. The additional […]
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