Newbury MP Lee Dillon has called for Thames Water to be placed into \u2018special administration\u2019 after \u2018repeated failures\u2019 resulting in illegal sewage discharge.<\/p>\n
An investigation has shown that in the last four years Thames Water allegedly made at least 8,499 illegal sewage discharges, taken from 39,404 total spills across 163 rivers in 66 constituencies.<\/p>\n
Raw sewage in Newbury street, Lambourn<\/p>\n
The newly-released analysis, originally reported by the New Statesman, reveals the extent of illegal sewage dumping carried out by Thames Water, and the scale of the environmental damage is far worse than previously understood.<\/p>\n
Mr Dillon, said: \u201cThe scale of illegal sewage discharges exposed today is nothing short of an environmental disaster on an industrial scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe figures confirm what communities in Newbury have been living with for years; a water system that is failing us, failing our rivers, and failing the very ecosystems it is meant to protect.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Newbury alone, we saw 24 days of illegal spills at our sewage works and more than 8,900 hours of sewage released into our rivers last year, a level of pollution no community should ever have to tolerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Makeshift signs highlighted the ongoing sewage pollution in Hampstead Norreys last April. Credit: Phil Cannings<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Thames Water said: \u201cWe are currently reviewing the report and have not validated it, so we are unable to comment on the stated conclusions.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking action to improve the health of our rivers remains a key focus for us and over the next five years, we are delivering the most significant upgrade to our wastewater network in 150 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes increasing treatment capacity, reducing storm discharges and introducing new nutrient-reduction schemes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are always committed to seeing waterways thrive, but we can\u2019t do it alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarming, industry, road runoff, wildlife, and increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to work closely with the Environment Agency and local partners to understand where improvements to our assets might be further required in future, so that communities can continue to enjoy their rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Dillon continued: \u201cOur chalk streams, the Kennet and the Pang, are among the rarest freshwater habitats on the planet, yet Thames Water has treated them as if they are expendable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese rivers are internationally significant, environmentally fragile, and deeply valued by our community, but, instead of safeguarding them, Thames Water has allowed repeated illegal discharges, deferred essential upgrades and hidden behind unreliable and inconsistent data.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the consequence of a broken model that prioritises complex financial structures over basic environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n
Thames Water pumping sewage out along New Road between Pigeon farm Road and Geryberry Copse Road<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough is enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot keep asking billpayers to shoulder the cost of failure while our precious rivers pay the ultimate price.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why I am calling for Thames Water to be placed into special administration, so we can finally break the cycle of underinvestment, restore accountability, and put the health of our rivers, and the rights of our residents, ahead of offshore creditors and financial engineering.<\/p>\n
Newbury MP Lee Dillon (pic courtesy UK Parliament)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deserve clean water, honest reporting, and a water company that works for people and the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s findings make one thing abundantly clear; the time for excuses has passed; the time for action is now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newbury MP Lee Dillon has called for Thames Water to be placed into \u2018special administration\u2019 after \u2018repeated failures\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,8728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-802182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-newbury","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116167759831102414","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}