Wera Hobhouse MP blasts 258% increase in sewage dump duration as Avon named second worst hit river in England and Wales
28 March 2024
Last year, 32,500 hours worth of sewage was dumped into the River Avon, which runs through Bath, marking a 258% increase on 2022. Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, has deemed this shocking data to be a clear example of an environmental scandal.
The news comes as Mrs Hobhouse helps to lead calls for a new Blue Flag status. Under this LIberal Democrat proposal, rivers could be designated with the special status to protect them from pollution, including water companies discharging sewage into them.
This would also assure river swimmers that certain environmental standards were being met, allowing them to swim without fear of illness. The Liberal Democrats have also announced that water companies that would continue to dump their sewage into Blue Flag rivers could face punitive fines.
The total number of sewage dumps in the River Avon in 2023 also sharply increased, by 77.47%, from the previous year. The Bath MP has consistently called for the abolition of the water regulator, Ofwat, as well as a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, commented:
“The fact that there has been a 258% increase in sewage dump duration in the River Avon compared to 2022 is nothing less than an environmental scandal, allowed to happen at the hands of careless Conservative ministers.
“Our community should not be forced to put up with this any longer, yet time and again this government has voted against tougher action on sewage dumping. The public are rightly furious that their favourite local rivers are being spoiled while water company bosses line their pockets with hefty bonuses.
“We urgently need a new Blue Flag status to protect our rivers, along with punitive fines for water companies that continue to pump their filthy sewage into them.”
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