England‘s biggest water company, Thames Water, has published an interactive map that shows real-time raw sewage discharges.

The data reveals that in some areas, hundreds of raw sewage is being discharged through storm overflows.

Responding to the news, Sian Berry, Green London Assembly Member, said: “Really interesting to see water pollution real-time information catching up a bit with air pollution data.

“And useful to know there is sewage discharge next to Parliament currently.”

Amy Slack, Head of Campaigns and Policy at Surfers Against Sewage said: “Only five days into 2023 and we have already issued 320 sewage alerts for our most popular beaches around the UK.”

Campaign group London Waterkeeper said: “The Thames Water sewer overflow map will increasingly be a way to chart what’s happening to our rivers.

“This reveals about 60% are in London. Some of these may be offline due to the upcoming supersewer.”

A few months ago, water companies faced heavy criticism for increasing incidents of companies pumping raw sewage into the sea.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us, but we also need to explain what is happening, and why.

“After a successful trial in the Oxford area, we have decided to provide close to real-time information about storm discharges from all of our 468 permitted locations.

“This is a key part of our River Health Action Plan to radically improve both performance and transparency in order to protect and improve the environment.

“Of course, what matters most is stopping the need for the discharges. Our shareholders have recently approved a business plan that sees us spending an additional £2 billion beyond what our customers are funding so we can improve outcomes for customers, leakage and river health.

“This will allow us to deliver our commitment to a 50% reduction in the total annual duration of spills across London and the Thames Valley by 2030, and within that an 80% reduction in sensitive catchments.”

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/01/06/thames-water-reveals-map-that-shows-real-time-sewage-dumps/