Title: Lincolnshire’s Environmental Head Warns ‘Still Too Much’ Raw Sewage is Being Dumped
Rewritten Content:
Lincolnshire’s open watercourses continue to be threateningly polluted with untreated sewage despite concerted efforts to improve the situation, according to the county’s environmental head. Colin Davie, a Conservative councillor who is in charge of economic development, environment and planning at the Lincolnshire County Council, has urged water companies to increase their efforts to alleviate the problem. He further proposed stricter measures from the regulator Ofwat to keep these companies in check.
Throughout 2024, data collated by the Environment Agency shows a substantial 3.61 million hours where English water companies released raw sewage into the sea and rivers. Councillor Davie stated that despite water companies’ efforts to reduce spillages, which normally occur during periods of heavy rainfall due to ‘storm overflows’, and despite their proposed improvement plans, stronger decisive action is required.
Over the forthcoming five years, Anglian Water pledges to invest £1 billion to manage these spillages. Councillor Davie highlighted the imperative of barring sewage contamination in open watercourses and suggested that the water companies should augment capacity to cope with heavy rainfall events, “rather than simply discharging it into the sea”. He also proposed strengthening the regulator’s authority to hold water companies accountable.
Even with a noticeable decrease in spillages compared to the previous year, 2024 data revealed that the Ingoldmells Water Recycling Centre and the Mablethorpe Water Recycling Centre, both managed by Anglian Water, frequently discharged waste into the North Sea and the Wold Grift Drain respectively. Councillor Davie drew attention to these incidents, emphasising how they harm the Blue Flag status given to local beaches, an accolade denoting excellence in environment, education and safety, as well as accessibility standards.
Steve Reed, Labour’s environment secretary, called attention to these unacceptable figures and highlighted the urgency for further accelerated activities. These include considerable private sector investment to renovate our declining infrastructure, rejuvenate our water bodies and stimulate economic growth across the nation.
This article was based on original journalism by The Lincoln Post, derived from Lincolnshire Live.
