How Much Sewage Are We Really Talking About?

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Last year, water companies released sewage 25 thousand times into designated bathing waters off the english coast. So all te seage that was released in two rivers and the sea was over a period of two point seven million hours in one year alone. The data for this year isn't out yet, but i would say from the amount of discharges we have seen, it probably is going to look quite bad. We're talking about it now because it's been a particularly bad summer, and more of us have been going to beaches and rivers in the hot weather. And may be noticing this. But it's not a new problem, is it? No. So it's been happening for decades.

Holidaymakers heading to British beaches and rivers were faced with a very unpleasant problem this summer – raw sewage. The sewage system usually carries rainwater and dirty wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens to treatment works but during ‘exceptional events’ such as heavy rainfall, when it is likely to be overwhelmed, raw sewage can be diverted and discharged into rivers and seas. Available data shows that in 2021, water companies released untreated sewage into waterways for 2.7m hours – with many discharge pipe monitors not working or left uninstalled. Madeleine Finlay speaks to reporter Helena Horton about why this is happening, and the damage it is doing to the environment, our health, and the UK’s seafood industry. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod