How much sewage is really in our local rivers

Data from the Rivers Trust has revealed just how much sewage was allowed to overflow into local rivers last year by the region’s water supplier, United Utilities.

The spillage of sewage typically originates from waste water treatment works and combined sewer overflows, pipes which reduce the risk of sewage backing up during heavy rainfall by allowing rainwater, runoff and untreated sewage to discharge into waterways.

According to the Rivers Trust data, the worst sewer storm overflows in the Rochdale borough were the Rochdale Waste Water Treatment Works, the Castleton Waste Water Treatment Works and Heywood Botany sewage treatment works.

Respectively, they spilled 103 times for 1,562.11 hours, 89 times for 890.55 hours, and 67 times for 589.66 hours, discharging into the River Roch and Trubb Brook.

Other figures from the Rivers Trust show combined sewer overflows also clocked up high numbers: Oakenrod spilled 87 times for 581.86 hours; two at Peel Lane for a combined 148 spills and 1,085.95 hours.

Similar figures have been recorded at combined sewer overflows across the Rochdale borough.

Rochdale MP Sir Tony Lloyd has criticised the water company for the move.

He said: “The fact that any raw sewage is dumped in Rochdale should shock us all.

“Underfunding of the Environment Agency means it can't monitor the action of the companies as it should. Ofwat, the companies regulator, is a toothless body which simply doesn't regulate. So is it any wonder that water companies haven't invested in preventing all this in the years since privatisation?

"Bear in mind water companies don't have a right to pollute and it's an offence. The number of prosecutions has dropped well down but what has kept up well is the dividends paid out. Some at least of the £296 million paid as dividends by United Utilities could have been invested in overflow prevention but it wasn’t. That has to change.

"I’ve raised this in Parliament as have other MPs. We’ve got to insist that the right to clean rivers and seas is a priority."

Mr Lloyd added that Labour analysis of Environment Agency data showed that raw sewage was discharged in Rochdale for the continuous equivalent of three-and-half-months.

Any water company caught illegally polluting the waterways currently faces enforcement action from the Environment Agency. This can range from Enforcement Undertakings – companies paying to restore damage to the environment – through to prosecution in the courts.

The most serious cases are dealt with through criminal prosecutions.

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We are committed to delivering a step change in performance, having reduced the operation of storm overflows by a third since 2020, and we know there is much more to do.

“With the largest combined sewer network in the country and 28 per cent more rainfall in our region than the UK average, we have ambitious plans to deliver further improvements through one of the biggest environmental programmes in the country.

“We now have approval to fast track that and begin to deliver £900 million of improvements early, bringing region wide benefits, reducing storm overflows, creating jobs, and boosting the resilience of local communities and the environment.”

The government’s Plan for Water was set out on 4 April, which will tackle pollution of waterways, including storm overflows and road runoff.

The plan aims to make sure water companies speed up their infrastructure upgrades, and ensure fines from water companies will be reinvested into a new Water Restoration Fund, making polluters pay for damage they cause to the environment.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “People are concerned about the impacts of sewage entering our rivers and seas and I am crystal clear that this is totally unacceptable.

“We need to be clear that this is not a new problem. Storm overflows have existed for over a century. The law has always allowed for discharges, subject to regulation. That is how our Victorian sewers are built – wastewater and rain are carried in the same pipe. When it reaches a certain height, it pours into another pipe and into rivers.

“Through the largest infrastructure programme in water company history we will tackle the problem at source.”