iNews: The hidden sewage spills damaging our national parks and beauty spots
“An investigation has revealed the location of almost 7,000 'emergency overflows' used by water companies to dump sewage, the majority of which are not being monitored by regulators.
Water companies are being allowed to dump sewage into England’s protected natural areas, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, from nearly 900 different locations, most of which are not being monitored by the Environment Agency (EA), i can reveal.
A joint investigation by i and SourceMaterial, a non-profit investigative journalism organisation, has uncovered the location of almost 7,000 ‘emergency overflow’ points across England.
It found that 890 of these pipes, which are different from the storm overflows water companies use during bad weather, are located in protected areas, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, like the Lake District and the New Forest.
Matt Staniek, a conservationist and founder of the Save Windermere campaign, said the “shocking absence of complete overflow monitoring reflects the Government’s lackadaisical approach to regulating the private, profit focussed water industry despite their history of illegal spilling”.
“More shocking, is that our most precious landscapes are not immune, with sewage dumping widespread across the Lake District National Park, including in Windermere and at Pooley Bridge in the Eden catchment SSSI,” he added.”
