Thérèse Coffey

Three of The biggest water companies are suspected of discharging sewage into The UK's Waterways on dry days in breach of their permits, according to a BBC investigation.

England's Environment Agency is into potentially illegal discharges by all water companies.

The UK's environment watchdog also suspects The government and water regulators have broken The Law over how they regulate sewage releases.

All of this follows extensive criticism of water firms over The Last few years about The High number of raw sewage discharges and The impact on The UK's Waterways .

Most of The UK has a combined sewerage system, meaning that both rainwater and wastewater - from toilets, bathrooms and kitchens - are carried in The same pipes.

Usually, all The waste is carried to a sewage treatment works.

But The Environment Agency (EA), which covers England, says capacity can sometimes be exceeded during heavy rainfall, especially when dry ground is unable to quickly absorb water.

This could lead to inundation of sewage works and potential flooding of homes, roads and open spaces.

For this reason, The System is designed to overflow occasionally and discharge excess wastewater into The Sea and Rivers .

This practice is known as (CSOs) and is permitted.

However, there is also evidence that some water companies are spilling sewage on days when it is not raining. Without rainwater to dilute The sewage this can lead to higher concentrations of sewage entering our Waterways - and therefore is illegal.

A recent BBC investigation suggests 388 potential " dry spills" by Thames, Wessex and Southern Water in 2022.

If water companies are found to have breached their permit by spilling on dry days or failing to meet other conditions of their permit they can be fined or prosecuted.

In April, The government announced its to improve water quality.

As part of this plan, it said polluters could face unlimited fines in The Future . This Was .

The government says penalties from water companies will be re-invested into a new Water Restoration Fund which aims to improve water quality.

But The Environment secretary Therese Coffey admitted there was " " given The Major changes needed to The water system.

She warned that building more infrastructure such as super sewers could add " hundreds to people's bills". The Times reported that.

The Environment Agency monitors pollution across England. It says that between May and September, " weekly assessments measure current water quality, and at A Number of sites daily pollution risk forecasts are issued". You can by location.

There are where you can find out about beaches and bathing water in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland .

Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has created showing pollution risk warnings along The coast and Rivers .

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Swimmers are warned to stay away when untreated sewage is discharged into The Sea .

The contaminated water could lead to serious illnesses.

Risks include.

Last Year three French members of The European Parliament said they, asking it to take action to stop The UK from polluting The Channel and The North Sea .

Since Brexit, they said, The UK " has chosen to lower its water quality standards".

The UK is no longer bound by EU environmental laws. But those laws were not directly regulating The frequency or number of sewage discharges.

, The UK's Environment Act 2021 - which replaced The EU laws - brought " some useful changes" which included " efforts to stop companies filling our Waterways with sewage".

Sewage spills have, so it is difficult to tell how they have changed over time.

However, overall water quality has been monitored for decades. This also accounts for other sources of pollution, such as agriculture.

The Environment Agency says in England, including:

Water quality is generally.

In Scotland, 63% of surface waters are classed as having " good" ecological status.

In Wales this is 40%, and in Northern Ireland 31%.

Source of news: bbc.com