"Top-rated UK water firms ‘dumped 1,374 illegal spills into rivers’," 13 October 2024

Two... water firms [allegedly] dumped raw sewage into rivers across the country in suspected illegal breaches of their permits... Severn Trent Water and United Utilities were [allegedly] responsible for 1,374 raw sewage spills from sewage treatment works in apparent breaches of permits over a two-year period in more than 80 watercourses, according to an analysis of previously unpublished operational data...

The water firms say the findings are based on “assumptions” and consider them unreliable...

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “The methodology used in this report is not one that is used by regulators or companies and continues to be based on assumptions rather than actual evidence or measured data.” The spokesperson said it understood people’s concerns about sewage discharges and had embarked on the “largest environmental investment in a century” in its infrastructure.

Severn Trent said: “Our sites have complex hydraulic configurations with multiple interdependencies that need to be assessed using site specific assured data, whereas desktop analysis like this can only produce assumptions and unreliable conclusions.

“We’re making progress to improve river health and an extra £1bn raised by our investors is accelerating delivery, with £450m being invested this year alone to reduce spills.” The firm said it considered the works at Colwall was operating “in line with its permits”, and that the Environment Agency performance assessments were “challenging and intensive” and it was the only water firm to achieve the highest rating five years in a row...