Raw sewage spills double in England’s waters

Sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas more than doubled last year, with 3.6 million hours of spills reported compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022

Severn Trent faces £2m fine for River Trent pollution incident

An investigation found that the water supplier had inadequate contingency plans, including a major pump being out of action for 52 days

Thames Water sewage discharges affecting Oxford rivers upstream

Thames Water treatment plants, including those on multiple rivers and the Thames itself, are reportedly discharging sewage into almost every river upstream of Oxford, with one discharge in Witney lasting over 100 hours

Major UK water firms accused of illegal sewage discharges

Three major water companies in the UK are suspected of engaging in illegal sewage discharges even when it wasn’t raining

UK scraps EU water pollution rules to build 100,000 homes

The government has unveiled plans to eliminate EU-era regulations related to nutrient neutrality, paving the way for the construction of over 100,000 homes in England by 2030

“Raw sewage floods sensitive UK wilderness areas for 300,000 hours”

Nearly 1,200 sewage overflow pipes in England and Wales discharged raw sewage for over 300,000 hours last year in protected wildlife habitats, according to a report

Thames Water fined £3.34m for polluting rivers

A judge has ruled that Thames Water’s actions resulted in severe pollution of rivers in Sussex and Surrey, causing the death of thousands of fish

Largest criminal investigation into potential sewage permit breaches launched

The Environment Agency’s initial assessment suggests “widespread” and “serious” non-compliance of environmental permit conditions by all water companies

‘Toxic chemical cocktails found in over 1,600 English water sites’

Up to 101 chemicals have been detected in river samples, including the rivers Mersey, Thames, Trent, Irwell, Medway, Humber and Avon, according to a study

Wipeout! England to ban almost all wet wipes

Next year, a ban is set to be implemented, but critics argue that this is not the first time the government has promised to tackle the issue of wet wipes