The data released by the Environment Agency regarding the total duration (hours) of all spills by Southern Water, prior to processing into the sea and the East Stour river, across the nine site in our district has fallen since 2020.
However that said, John Leyland, environment agency executive director said last year’s decrease (202) was “largely down to dry weather, not water company action”.
Southern Water release sewage when there is too much demand on their treatment works during rainy periods.
Contained within the untreated effluent is human waste, wet wipes, condoms and sanitary products, which pose a serious risk to the local wildlife, swimmers and others who use local waterways. Or put another way they pour a toxic cocktail of many pollutants, including microplastics and pathogens in our seas of our coastline and into the East Stour river.
Southern Water, like all other water companies must significantly reduce harmful pathogens from storm overflows discharging into and near designated bathing waters by either applying disinfection or reducing the frequency of discharges to meet Environment Agency spill standards by 2035.
Knowing how many hours Southern Water dumped sewage into the sea tells us nothing. What we need to know is the volume of the spillages, eg how many Olympic swimming pools or Wembley stadiums, they poured into the sea. That way we’d be able to put this into some kind of context, as one must remember they’ve been doing this since 1989.
But it is not just Southern Water who are destroying our rivers and seas with sewage. Lord Reed of the Supreme Court has recently said about United Utilities, who provide water and wastewater services in the North West of England
Such behavior by any water company breaching its statutory duty should not be allowed. Let’s hope the Good Law project, who have an upcoming High Court hearing against the Government’s failure to put in place a proper plan to stop the discharge of sewage into our rivers and coastal waters is successful.
Our seas and rivers deserve protection, as do the people who use them, wherever they are in the UK.
The Shepway Vox Team
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