England’s rivers and coastlines have long suffered from sewage problems. Critics say the water company’s alarming release of untreated sewage, some of it illegally, is making swimmers sick and polluting the nation’s vital ecosystems.
“It’s unpleasant to be in the water and see or smell sewage,” said Josh Harris, spokesman for the pollution-monitoring charity Surfers Against Sewers. .
Britain’s private water and sewage company on Thursday admitted it had failed to adequately respond to sewage spills and announced a £10bn ($12.4bn) plan to modernize the country’s sewers.
Last year alone, these companies pumped more than 1.75 million hours of sewage into rivers and oceans, with a total of 301,091 spills, an average of 825 per day. according to government dataa slight decrease compared to the previous year, but not mainly due to dry weather, Precautions taken by the water companysaid the UK Environment Agency.
“The message from the water and wastewater industry today is clear: I’m sorry,” said Ruth Kelly, chairman of Water UK, an association representing UK water companies. news release, added that companies are listening. “People are right to be angry about the current quality of rivers and beaches.”
The apology comes after a year of actions by the UK’s environmental regulator to hold water and wastewater companies accountable. Regulators have also come under pressure from activists who accuse them of not enacting sufficiently stringent rules or enforcing existing rules on pollution limits.
British companies are only allowed to dump untreated sewage in exceptional circumstances, such as during severe storms that strain Victorian-era infrastructure.
the government has promised To make changes, These include tougher times when companies can release untreated sewage and tougher penalties for breaking the rules. Since 2015, regulators have taken legal action. water company penalized fined more than £144 million, or approximately $178 million, 2021the Environment Agency has launched an investigation to more closely monitor the dumping practices of companies.
Government officials and regulators welcomed Thursday’s announcement and said they would work closely with water companies to ensure improvements. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland control their own sewage treatment, so the plan only applies to England. But residents of these countries are also putting pressure on authorities to combat waste spills.
While the apology is a starting point, environmental groups and experts have questioned why water companies have been allowed to dump so much sewage for so long and why customers are willing to pay for the increased investment. I doubt if I have to pay.
“This is not a show-off moment,” said Darren Reynolds, professor of health and environment at the University of the West of England in Bristol, adding that the water industry has apologized after repeatedly denying there was a problem. “We are talking about meeting a minimum proficiency level.”
He said private water companies are avoiding responsibility in an attempt to maximize the cost to shareholders, and regulators have been unable to do their job effectively, in part because of chronic underfunding. Still, the situation represented a systemic failure, with pollution effects on waterways likely to have long-term consequences for future ecosystems.
“It’s not just about taking a short nap while driving,” says Reynolds. “We have been actively destroying the water environment.”
Sewer Surfers Against Swayze spokesman Harris said even with the apology, it was hard to believe the new plans amounted to real change, and said current restrictions on water companies weren’t enough. .
“They have overseen the mismanagement of our sewage system for decades, sucking tens of billions of dollars for our shareholders all the while,” he said.
Water UK said on Thursday that investors would cover the costs first and that the investment would be repaid “a little each year” through water bills. But Professor Reynolds said the country needs a long-term plan to transform water management.
“If you’re talking about making the world a cleaner and healthier place, this is pretty devastating,” he said, adding that the UK was lagging behind in water innovation. rice field. “We have to lead by example, and we clearly don’t.”
