Analysis by the BBC reveals there were 6,000 probable illegal spills in the UK in 2022 – here’s what we know about this worrying phenomenon.
Something worrying is happening in the United Kingdom: a new investigation conducted by the BBC has in fact shown that some of the main English water companies have done so illegal wastewater spills in rivers, lakes and seas (there are over 6,000 in just one year, 2022). Despite the protests of the companies involved, the analysis method adopted by the issuer appears to be even more “generous” than that with which theEnvironmental Agency (EA) monitors such spills. Here’s what we know.
Illegal spills discovered in UK
In England, the Environment Agency keeps tabs on the spills from water companies: they are allowed to discharge raw sewage into rivers, lakes and seas only when the days are particularly rainy, because the accumulation of water could cause potentially dangerous flooding even for nearby homes. In a dry climate, however, there is a ban on dumping waste water. There BBC decided to check the data on spills involving nine English water companies, identifying numerous anomalies.
The first part of the investigation concerned the spills of three companies, leading to the discovery of 388 cases of possible dry spills (i.e. in the presence of a dry climate). The other six companies refused to share their data, but the Environment Agency decided this was not prejudicial and allowed the BBC to have access to that information. The main purpose of monitoringon the other hand, is precisely to increase transparency and the goal is to make the data available to the public.
Comprehensive analysis of that data, covering all nine companies, allowed the BBC to discover over 6,000 potentially illegal spills, in 2022 alone. The most worrying thing is that such phenomena would have occurred even in the hottest periods of the year, when many people sought refreshment in the rivers and lakes into which the waste water was conveyed. “We are very concerned about those events occurring in places where people are likely to get wet,” she said Professor Barbara Evans from the University of Leeds.
BBC analysis and the protests
The BBC conducted its investigation following a very rigorous method. The data collected are in fact those identified by monitors present at the overflow points, where the sewage is discharged: these monitors record the start and end times of the spills. These data were cross-referenced with those of the rainfall that occurred in the locations in question, based on the monitoring of the Met Office. The result is what we have already anticipated: over 6,000 spills carried out in dry weather, therefore potentially illegal.
Water companies protested, saying the data used was incorrect because of monitor malfunctions or too stringent criteria adopted by the BBC (which calculated the leaks that occurred only after 4 days of consecutive dry weather). In reality, these criteria are even more “generous” than those used by the Environment Agency. In the meantime, concern is growing: the sewage contains human and animal feces that can convey theEscherichia coli, a bacterium that is dangerous to health. They are also rich in nutrients that feed algae, modifying ecosystems and damaging the biodiversity of rivers, lakes and seas.
