76.8% increase in hours of sewage dumped by Severn Trent Water last year

New figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Severn Trent Water, which covers South Leicestershire, discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 440,446 hours last year, a 76.8% increase on 2022.

South Leicestershire Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in local rivers, including replacing Ofwat with a tougher regulator. The party has also called for a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs, including the MP for South Leicestershire, have consistently voted against measures that would have helped to tackle the crisis. 

In 2022 alone, 64 spills accounted for 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝟳𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 worth of effluent being dumped into the Countesthorpe Brook, a Tributary Of River Sence.  

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for South Leicestershire, Paul Hartshorn said:

“It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into South Leicestershires’s rivers and waterways. 

“It beggars belief that Conservative MPs have allowed water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism. Local people are furious that Conservative politicians blocked tougher action on these disgraced firms.

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local rivers including replacing OfWat with a regulator that has real teeth to clamp down on these polluting firms. We have also called for a ban on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

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