Sewage in our waterways

[Toodles McGinty]

I keep reading about this today. Still can't quite get my head around why.

Yesterday evening, 265 MPs (including own own dear Damien) voted down an amendment to stop private water companies from dumping raw sewage into the UK’s rivers and coastlines.

Evolve:

"Lords Amendment 45 to the Environment Bill would have placed a legal duty on water companies in England and Wales “to make improvements to their sewerage systems and demonstrate progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage.”

“Despite the horrendous environmental impact of the disgusting practice, shortly before the vote, the Conservative Environment Secretary George Eustace recommended to his fellow MPs that they should reject it.”

“And, owing largely to the government’s 80 seat majority, the amendment was indeed defeated – by a margin of 268 MPs to 204.”

104 days after being fined £90m for dumping sewage into the environment, and less than 12 hours after the government voted to protect water companies and not our rivers, Southern Water was dumping sewage at 60 different locations along the south coast of England.

Dead seagulls have been spotted along Southend seafront following a sewage spillage which has moved experts to warn beach-goers from entering the water.

Untreated sewage discharged into rivers and coastal waters will lead to cholera and typhoid. This problem was recognised in 1860.

Are we going back to the 60s, dead birds everywhere, turds on the beach?

WTF is going on?

[Desert Region]

"Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink"

[The PNP]

WTF is going on?

Smells like it could be part of the Brexit 'dividend'. No longer subject to maintaining EU environmental standards, the UK Govt can do what it likes with $**t.
Hurrah for 'sovereignity'!

[seivad]

What happened to Johnson's pledge to make Britain the cleanest, greenest country on earth? Someone should tell him that the environment also includes waterways, and the creatures (including humans) that swim in them.

The filthy, dirty hypocrite should change his slogan to 'Take Britain back to the days when we lived in $h*t'. Personally I would like to rub the faces of all the MPs who voted against the bill in a stinking heap of it. I am truly gob smacked.

[donkey22]

Lake Windermere is also becoming a cesspit.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...logically-dead

[Stuartli]

Smells like it could be part of the Brexit 'dividend'. No longer subject to maintaining EU environmental standards, the UK Govt can do what it likes with $**t.
Hurrah for 'sovereignity'!

As United Utilities, which covers the entire North West area, consistently delivers water to our properties that you can safely drink from the tap, perhaps you ought to rethink that crass comment?

I know that if you visit Continental countries and, for example, would normally enjoy salad with your meals, you are strongly advised not to do so because the water is not of the quality expected in which to wash the ingredients.

[donkey22]

As United Utilities, which covers the entire North West area, consistently delivers water to our properties that you can safely drink from the tap, perhaps you ought to rethink that crass comment?

I know that if you visit Continental countries and, for example, would normally enjoy salad with your meals, you are strongly advised not to do so because the water is not of the quality expected in which to wash the ingredients.

Why a crass comment? This thread is about the unacceptable pollution of our waterways and the destruction of our wildlife and plants, not the quality of the stuff coming out of our taps.

United Utilities fined £700k for pollution breach.

A leak that dumped thousands of tonnes of untreated sewage into the River Medlock in Greater Manchester has landed United Utilities with a hefty fine that sends a ‘strong message’ to others.

https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/gr...llution-breach

[Stuartli]

Why a crass comment? This thread is about the unacceptable pollution of our waterways and the destruction of our wildlife and plants, not the quality of the stuff coming out of our taps.

United Utilities fined £700k for pollution breach.

A leak that dumped thousands of tonnes of untreated sewage into the River Medlock in Greater Manchester has landed United Utilities with a hefty fine that sends a ‘strong message’ to others.

That was seven years ago....

UU manages a vast amount of waterways, rivers, reservoirs, sewage treatment and disposal etc - you can't just cite one example as being representative of its very high standards.

[donkey22]

That was seven years ago....

UU manages a vast amount of waterways, rivers, reservoirs, sewage treatment and disposal etc - you can't just cite one example as being representative of its very high standards.

Here you go, not that consistent with their supply of drinking water then? Half a million pounds worth of fines for supplying water ‘unfit for human consumption’ through our taps.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...water-14753482

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-41565873

Do you have shares in them? Just Google ‘united utilities fines’, I was spoilt for choice for citing plenty of other examples.
But again, this thread is about the pollution of waterways and the appalling attitude of this government and the Environment Act, which had it succeeded would have prevented messrs UU and co from dumping raw sewage into our waterways. It’s quite literally disgusting behaviour.

[seivad]

That was seven years ago....

UU manages a vast amount of waterways, rivers, reservoirs, sewage treatment and disposal etc - you can't just cite one example as being representative of its very high standards.

Have you read the reports re. private water companies illegally dumping raw sewage in rivers and coastal areas? There were reports about it in April. The link below is just one of many. It involved 10 water companies.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56721660

One company, Southern Water was fined £90 million for dumping up to 21 billion litres of untreated sewage. The Environment Agency reported that raw sewage was dumped into England's waters 400,000 times in 2020. I'm sure that if you read some of the reports, you'll understand why people are disgusted. I would imagine that once you read about it, you couldn't help but share their views. Who on earth would want this to continue?

On October 3rd the Telegraph published an article stating that the majority of England's rivers are polluted with sewage. It's behind a paywall, so I can't access it. Maybe you can.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...ter-companies/

[Little Londoner]

Gas & Electricity, if you can get it.

Water,

Railways,

All privatised All costing tax payers a fortune or in the case of Water maybe lives.
Railways are slowly being brought back to public ownership after a lot of rich people are even richer thanks to the Tory mantra.
Storage facilities for gas cut to the bone hence people not being able to heat their home thanks to making more money for shareholders. Surely buying gas in Summer when it is cheaper and storing it is financially more benefit to the country but the so called fiscally competent Tory Party are literally "in the SH*T".

I for one wouldn't trust that scruffy article Johnson to clear up the contents of a dogs bowel after a movement of the same. Remember how the holier than thou Thatcher and her rectum lickers used to criticise Michael Foot for his dress sense and we now have a tramp as leader.

[semah]

Gas & Electricity, if you can get it.

Water,

Railways,

All privatised All costing tax payers a fortune or in the case of Water maybe lives.
Railways are slowly being brought back to public ownership after a lot of rich people are even richer thanks to the Tory mantra.
Storage facilities for gas cut to the bone hence people not being able to heat their home thanks to making more money for shareholders. Surely buying gas in Summer when it is cheaper and storing it is financially more benefit to the country but the so called fiscally competent Tory Party are literally "in the SH*T".

I for one wouldn't trust that scruffy article Johnson to clear up the contents of a dogs bowel after a movement of the same. Remember how the holier than thou Thatcher and her rectum lickers used to criticise Michael Foot for his dress sense and we now have a tramp as leader.

I know for a fact that uu and many other water companies are getting to the stage where they can’t control the antiquated sewer system without spendind billions to sort the problem out. That extra cost would need to be passed on to the customer. Politically any party in power would hate the publics reaction..votes.

[Stuartli]

Here you go, not that consistent with their supply of drinking water then? Half a million pounds worth of fines for supplying water ‘unfit for human consumption’ through our taps.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...water-14753482

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-41565873

Do you have shares in them? Just Google ‘united utilities fines’, I was spoilt for choice for citing plenty of other examples.
But again, this thread is about the pollution of waterways and the appalling attitude of this government and the Environment Act, which had it succeeded would have prevented messrs UU and co from dumping raw sewage into our waterways. It’s quite literally disgusting behaviour.

As I said, it was seven years ago. Perhaps you haven't seen, for example, the multi-million pound sewage upgrade work done by UU over at Blackpool; noticed the fact that it covers two major Victorian cities' water and sewage requirements in Liverpool and Manchester or, indeed, any of the works undertaken in Southport (complete replacement of the lead water pipes in the area a few years ago).

No I don't have shares in UU. But I do respect the remarkable work it does in looking after our water and sewage requirements over such a vast area of the North West.

[silver fox]

I know for a fact that uu and many other water companies are getting to the stage where they can’t control the antiquated sewer system without spendind billions to sort the problem out. That extra cost would need to be passed on to the customer. Politically any party in power would hate the publics reaction..votes.

Water companies are spending money, but in the main all the privatised utilities wish to extract as much as possible without investment, then when the system can no longer cope, they just jump ship.

[Stuartli]

Water companies are spending money, but in the main all the privatised utilities wish to extract as much as possible without investment, then when the system can no longer cope, they just jump ship.

The last Environment Agency summary of water utilities' performances was, it seems, in 2019. UU appears to come out well:

https://tinyurl.com/3yrvkx2e