He told the paper: “I have seen rivers full of effluent, bubbling like they are full of detergent. Water companies are only permitted to release sewage during periods of heavy rain so that the system does not back up and pump sewage into people’s homes. In the last two years alone, water companies in England dumped raw sewage 775,568 times over 5,768,679 hours. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it has increased transparency of sewage discharges by making water companies monitor and publish more data on overflows. In January, Conservative MPs introduced a new target for water companies to reduce the level of phosphorus, a chemical present in human waste, from treated wastewater by 80%.

Source: The Times March 04, 2023 18:01 UTC