Raw Sewage Dumped Into River For Over 1,300 Hours

There has been a big increase in the amount of raw sewage dumped into the River Welland in Market Harborough.

117 separate incidents were recorded last year – a 44% rise on 2022.

Sewage flowed into the watercourse for over 1,300 hours, which is nearly double the amount of time it did during the year before and equates to 54 days continuously.

Water companies are permitted to allow untreated waste to be released into rivers during heavy rainfall to stop sewers backing up.

The data has been released by the Environment Agency, which monitors three points along the river through the town where sewage can enter the water.

Darren Woodiwiss is co-ordinator of the Green Party in Market Harborough and told HFM the rise in such discharges is unacceptable, with the actual figures likely to be higher:

The River Welland through Market Harborough

Anglian Water is responsible for public sewers in Market Harborough.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We are disappointed to see our spill numbers have increased this year.

“However we are confident that investments we’ve been making to reduce spills have moved the dial in the right direction and spills would have been considerably higher without it.

“It is important to acknowledge the exceptionally wet weather we had late last year, which meant that 70% of our spills were in Q4 alone and in stark comparison to the extremely dry year in 2021, as climate change continues to result in more extreme weather events.”