Sewage dumping is not just a national crisis. It is a crisis for us here in the Lichfield District
New figures analysing sewage dumped in Council areas have revealed that sewage was dumped into waterways in Lichfield District for 2475 hours in 2023.
The analysis is based on official data from the Environment Agency and it shows sewage was dumped into local rivers and waterways on 526 separate occasions in 2023.
This is a shocking 88% rise in the duration of sewage spills compared to the previous year, showing how the sewage scandal has worsened under the Conservative government’s watch.
The Liberal Democrats have led the way in campaigning against sewage dumping for years. The party is calling for strict measures including replacing Ofwat with a tougher regulator and a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.
Policies like this led to the Liberal Democrats recent local election success where the party beat the Conservatives with the number of councillors elected. And that comes off the back of the huge success for the Lib Dems in the Lichfield District elections in May 2023 when it increased its district councillors from 1 to 7.
Liberal Democrat leader on Lichfield District, Cllr Paul Ray said:
“It is disgusting that filthy sewage has been pumped into our waterways so many times last year. We all know that this is a national scandal but the data shows that it is also a scandal affecting us directly here in the Lichfield District. The latest data shows that there has been a 88% rise in the duration of sewage spills in our district compared to the previous year.
“On the doorstep, people tell me how furious they are that filthy sewage is being pumped into our rivers and waterways here in the Lichfield District - they want to send this Conservative government a message.
“The Liberal Democrats have led the way for years in campaigning for tougher action. We want to see a tougher water regulator and an end to bonuses for polluting water company bosses.
“Come the General Election, the Lichfield Liberal Democrats will be campaigning hard against this scandal that has been allowed to take hold while the Conservative Government has sat on its hands and looked the other way.”
Councillor Hugh Ashton added further national and local detail:
"Lichfield’s MP, Sir Michael Fabricant, chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways, but seems to be unconcerned by the levels of pollution and sewage dumping by the privatised water companies, and their lack of attention to the infrastructure, which have even resulted in the centre of Lichfield City being flooded, while the head of Severn Trent, Liv Garfield, collected a £3.2 million pay package. Meanwhile, Thames Water, having been systematically asset stripped by previous overseas investors, now faces renationalisation as an alternative to asking customers to accept staggering large price increases to pay for long overdue infrastructure improvements. However, these matters are ones on which Sir Michael seems to have been remarkably silent."
A few useful links:
https://waterways.org.uk/about-us/all-party-parliamentary-group-for-the-waterways
https://inews.co.uk/news/beaches-rivers-too-polluted-to-bathe-swim-3062810