New bill to end sewage in rivers launched

Today MPs will hear a new Sewage Discharges Bill as it is revealed that water companies are responsible for discharging raw sewage into waterways over 750,000 times over the last two years.

The new bill would ban water companies from dumping sewage into rivers and legislate to name and shame the companies found to poison animals. Under the new bill, water companies would be forced to publish quarterly figures of how many animals have been forced to swim in sewage polluted rivers.

Britain’s rivers, chalk streams and coast lines have become polluted with raw sewage discharged by water companies. The result is wild swimmers being told to avoid their local lakes and toxic substances known as “forever chemicals”, being detected in otters across England and Wales.

In England, only 14 per cent of rivers meet standards for good ecological status according to the Rivers Trust, with wildlife groups also warning sewage is now the biggest risk to animals living in or near rivers. There are fears that dogs swimming in rivers will now also be poisoned by sewage.

Last year the Liberal Democrats backed changes to the government’s flagship Environment Act to end sewage discharges once and for all. The changed failed.

Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokesperson and Lake District MP Tim Farron said: “Enough is enough. It is time to end this national scandal. I am calling on MPs to do the decent thing and save treasured animals from endless sewage dumps.

“Right now otters are being poisoned and dog walkers fear the sight of their beloved pet jumping into a local stream. This is a shameful state of affairs.

“Water companies show no signs of changing their way and the Conservatives are letting them get away with it.

“When will the Government finally wake up to this environmental disaster instead of letting water companies off the hook? Conservative Ministers cannot turned a blind eye any longer”.