For a long time it was a question that most of us gave little thought: where does our waste go when we flush it down the toilet?, when London was in the midst of the “Great Stink”.Over centuries the River Thames had become a convenient dumping ground for waste, which often produced an unpleasant smell
Many firms also discharge frequently during dry weather, prompting accusations of illegal sewage dumping. It was at this point that England’s water sector underwent privatisation. The 1989 Water Act, passed by Margaret Thatcher’s government, promised to spur greater investment in the country’s water infrastructure without putting pressure on the public purse.
Scotland and Northern Ireland, where water is publicly owned, have many of the same problems as England and Wales when it comes to sewage spills and ageing infrastructure. The state can also fail to make sufficient infrastructure investments. Firms in England would then price this into their business models, which are submitted for approval to Ofwat, the industry regulator.Many have accused the Environment Agency of being asleep at the wheel as sewage pollution slowly kills our rivers. As well as being slow to introduce new standards, the watchdog has struggled to police existing legislation, allowing widespread rule breaking from water companies.
The crisis has become a major political issue ahead of the general election, with parties vowing to introduce harsh penalties on water companies that pollute our rivers. Currently, just 16 per cent of Britain’s rivers have a “good” ecological status, meaning they support healthy ecosystems. This means investment in things like wetlands, ponds and green roofs, that store rain and reduce the amount of water making its way into our sewerage systems, or washing pollutants off of fields and farms and into our rivers. They also have the benefit of reducing flooding in towns and cities, crucial as climate change brings more extreme rainfall to the UK.