The latest data from the Environment Agency recorded 111,143 days’ worth of raw sewage being discharged into England’s rivers in 2021. This is the equivalent of 372,525 individual spillages over 2,667,439 minutes.
The news comes as Sewage was pumped into Oxfordshire stream for 95 hours in seven days.
Chelsea Hothem, of the River Thame Conservation Trust, said: “As a headwater stream and the most northerly waterway of the River Thame [a tributary of the Thames], the Hardwick Brook is an important piece of the ecological jigsaw in our catchment. Healthy river systems start with their headwaters. If we can’t look after these, we don’t stand a chance in looking after the rest of the river,” she said
A spokesman for Thames Water said: “We are absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing our rivers and the communities who love them, and we want to make these discharges of diluted sewage unnecessary as quickly as possible.
Feargal Sharkey
However, Feargal Sharkey has just released a statement that might give hope to everyone who wants the government and water companies to clean up our waterways.
He wrote: “@WildFishCons, which I am honorary vice president of, has just been granted permission to take government to the High Court and challenge the legality of their deeply flawed sewage reduction plan. For more info contact WildFish.”
He followed up with this tweet.
Related: #TorySewageParty trends AGAIN as list of Tories voting to allow sewage dumping goes viral
