‘Disgusting’ Sewage Dump Into River Welland

A clean-up has taken place after toilet paper, wet wipes and sanitary products were washed up on the banks of the River Welland in Market Harborough.

It happened when a storm drain discharged raw sewage into the water off Rockingham Road on Saturday.

The aftermath of the sewage discharge

Wildlife enthusiast Don West first noticed what had happened and was one of the volunteers involved in the clean-up yesterday:

The aftermath of the sewage discharge

Such discharges occur when sewage infrastructure becomes overwhelmed by heavy rain, but questions are being asked about why it happened during just a short period of heavy rainfall on Saturday.

Anglian Water, which is responsible for waste water in Market Harborough, says its teams are scheduling ‘a full clean-up’ of the area affected.

Volunteers from ‘Harborough Pickers’ cleaned-up up yesterday during a litter pick along the River Welland in Market Harborough

It was revealed yesterday Anglian Water let wastewater flow into rivers and seas for over 448,000 hours last year, with nearly 44,000 spills – an increase on the previous year.

A spokesperson said: “We know our customers will be disappointed to see an increase in our storm overflow data this year.

“This is largely reflective of the extreme weather and persistent flooding we saw across our region in the first part of 2024 which accounted for nearly 50% of our spills.

“We also understand the strength of feeling around storm spills, and having apologised, we have promised transformational action – because we know our climate is going to keep changing, so we have to find better ways of dealing with extreme rainfall.”

The aftermath of the sewage discharge