Sewage Discharge Levels

In recent years, there has been a significant and highly publicised increase in the volume and frequency of raw sewage being discharged into UK rivers and coastal waters. These discharges are primarily from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), which are designed to release excess sewage during heavy rainfall to prevent it from backing up into homes.

Key Reasons for the Increase:
Increased Monitoring: A major factor in the recorded rise is the recent installation of monitors on most CSOs. While discharges were always occurring, they are now being tracked and reported for the first time, making the scale of the problem visible.

Ageing Infrastructure: The UK’s Victorian-era sewer system is often unable to cope with the increased demand from a growing population and the added pressure from urban expansion, which creates more impermeable surfaces.

More Extreme Weather: Climate change is leading to more frequent and intense rainfall events, which overwhelm the sewer network more often, triggering more frequent CSO discharges.

Regulatory and Investment Gaps: Critics argue that water companies have under-invested in infrastructure and that the environmental regulator has been under-resourced, leading to insufficient oversight and enforcement.

Public and Political Reaction
The data has sparked widespread public outrage, with campaigns from groups like Surfers Against Sewage and high-profile media coverage. This has forced the issue onto the political agenda, with the government and water companies announcing plans to invest billions in infrastructure upgrades. However, the problem remains acute, with ongoing debates about the pace of change and the adequacy of the proposed solutions.