![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/mps-call-for-investigation-after-bbc-news-report-on-sewage/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/130992613_cso.jpg&description=Image source, GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images Campaigners and opposition MPs have called for action on sewage spills, following a BBC News investigation. It suggests three major water companies illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times in 2022 on dry days. The practice, known as "dry spilling", is banned because it can lead to higher concentrations of sewage in waterways. The Environment Agency (EA) said it was currently conducting its largest criminal investigation into "non-compliance" by water companies. Water companies are allowed to release sewage after it has rained, to prevent it overwhelming the system and backing up into people's homes. But BBC News cross-referenced 2022 spill data from Thames, Southern and Wessex Water with rainfall data, to identify 3,500 hours of potential dry spills - which are illegal. On Tuesday, water campaigner and musician Feargal Sharkey said it " provides another layer of the horror that has become the water industry in England", while Labour called for an "immediate investigation into both the breach of the licence and the environmental damage caused". This was echoed by Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron. "These revelations are scandalous and the government must act immediately," he said. "These companies should be held criminally responsible and see their day in court if found to be breaching their permits." Labour's shadow environment secretary, Steve Reed, blamed government underfunding of the EA. "They cut back enforcement and monitoring against water companies releasing this filth and are now failing to prosecute them when they are blatantly breaking the law," he said. The EA's environmental-protection budget, funded by the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was halved between 2010 and 2020 . And one of its environmental-regulation officers told the BBC News investigation there was a "firm link" between budget cuts and staff losses and its failure to identify and i){kind=link}
Campaigners and opposition MPs have called for action on sewage spills, following a BBC News investigation.
It suggests three major water companies illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times in 2022 on dry days.
The practice, known as “dry spilling”, is banned because it can lead to higher concentrations of sewage in waterways.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it was currently conducting its largest criminal investigation into “non-compliance” by water companies.
Water companies are allowed to release sewage after it has rained, to prevent it overwhelming the system and backing up into people’s homes.