The decline of heavy industry, particularly in urban areas, may have been a boon for Britain’s rivers, but the continued discharge of other forms of waste into waterways remains a scandal. Data published by Thames Water have revealed that, over three days this week, it spilled sewage into every county it serves. Water firms are permitted to do this on rare occasions to stop the system being overloaded. The Environment Agency is conducting an investigation into the companies to identify potentially criminal releases.
It is welcome, at least, that these data are being made publicly available. Such transparency ought to make it easier for practitioners of so-called “wild swimming” to work out whether it is safe for them to use a particular waterway. The knowledge that sewage is being released into much-loved rivers, with all the associated environmental damage, has also increased public pressure on water companies to do more to clean up their act.
However, water firms largely operate as monopolies. While privatisation has resulted in considerable investment – and some studies have shown that bills are cheaper than they otherwise would have been – consumers are unable to express their disapproval with how the companies operate by changing supplier, in the same way they would in another sector. That gives the water regulator and ministers considerable responsibility.
Some might argue that ensuring rivers are not being polluted is a second-order issue, compared with, say, fixing the collapsing health service. That is shortsighted. We need a national plan to clean up our waterways urgently, before the situation gets any worse.
Water companies must clean up their act – and our rivers
We need a national plan to clean up the nation’s waterways