Background to all the excitement: In the UK, rainwater and sewage are routed to sewage treatment plants in the same pipes. When it rains heavily, however, the capacity is sometimes insufficient, especially when the dried-up soil cannot absorb the water quickly, as was the case following the recent heat wave. This circumstance can lead to sewage treatment plants overflowing and thus to flooding of houses and streets.
For this reason, it is permitted in Great Britain that excess sewage is occasionally discharged directly into the sea and rivers – this has recently been used by a number of sewage treatment plants. Dozens of beaches were then closed because of pollution – France was outraged. By allowing sewage to flow unfiltered into the English Channel and the North Sea, flora and fauna of the waters as well as human health would be threatened, it said.
Plan by 2050: no more outflow of waste water
A UK government spokesman dismissed the allegations, calling them “simply not true”. Although one is no longer a member of the EU, it is obliged to keep the water clean by various UN conventions. However, recent data from the Environment Agency showed that the amount of untreated sewage discharged increased almost thirty-fold between 2016 and 2021.
The British government is now setting the goal of no more discharge of sewage by 2050 – with the exception of unusually heavy rainfall. The expected additional cost to consumers of an average of £42 a year by 2050 is worth the price, Environment Secretary Eustice told BBC Radio 4.
Opposition zürnt
The opposition was outraged by the government’s plans. Consumers would have to foot the bill for “the mess that companies have made,” said Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats. “While they’re making money, we’re swimming in sewage,” Farron said.
However, according to the current plans, there will be no comprehensive reform of the sewage system. According to the authorities, a complete separation between rainwater and sewage would cost between 350 and 600 billion pounds (415 to 711 billion euros) and would take many times longer than until 2050. Because the extent of the affected places is enormous.
Problem in 15,000 places
In England alone there are 15,000 points where overflow can flow out. That’s a legacy of the Victorian sewage infrastructure, Eustice said. For decades, both Conservative and Labor governments have failed to reform in order not to increase utility bills for households. Now it costs a moderate sum to fix the problem in the coming years.
The EU Commission had already tried in court in 2012 to restrict the discharge of waste water. At the time, the court concluded that unexplained discharges might only take place in “extraordinary” circumstances, such as following heavy rain.
High number of unreported cases suspected
There can be no question of that today – and it is assumed that there are many unreported cases of drained water. According to an evaluation by the Liberal Democrats, around a quarter of the sewage was flushed into the sea unmonitored last year because control systems were not working. “This is a national scandal and these new numbers smack of a cover-up,” said environment spokesman Farron. He had accused the privatized British sewage company of serious failure.
Tories once morest tougher laws
Environmental activist Stanley Johnson, father of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is also a critic of the system. In a conversation with his daughter Rachel Johnson on the radio station LBC, he sharply criticized the government in the sewage cause. She didn’t do enough to hold companies accountable.
Johnson’s Tories last fall opposed an amendment to the Environment Act that would have required water companies to stop pumping wastewater into rivers. The favorite for Johnson’s successor, Liz Truss, had also canceled millions of pounds planned for the fight once morest water pollution as environment secretary, according to the Guardian. She said there needs to be more transparency, investment and monitoring in the water sector.