Water companies have been accused of an “environmental cover-up” as new figures revealed that one in seven sewage monitors used to record leaks are faulty.
That rose to a third of devices in trouble Thames Waterfacing the risk of emergency nationalization as it struggles to A deepening funding crisis.
The number of non-functioning monitors has raised concerns that the sewage scandal is far larger than previously thought, further increasing pressure on utility companies and governments.
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It comes after separate figures showed the dumping of raw sewage into England’s rivers and seas was the worst offender. Last year was the worst on record.
According to the Environment Agency, water companies’ discharges of untreated wastewater doubled from 1.8 million hours in 2022 to 3.6 million hours in 2023.
The number of single spill incidents also jumped 54%, from 301,000 incidents in 2022 to 464,000 incidents in 2023, partly due to wet weather.
Activists believe that dumping sewage into waterways is a sign of chronic underinvestment by water companies.
Businesses have recently invested £180m in a rush in the face of public anger over widespread pollution.
They are also planning to invest £10bn by the end of this decade, which they say will result in 150,000 fewer spills a year.
Gove: Thames Water leadership a ‘disgrace’
But Lib Dem analysis found that 15 per cent of all sewage monitors were faulty, prompting the party to call for a national environmental emergency to be declared.
The number and length of sewage dumps created by storm overflows, which act as safety valves during heavy rains and prevent sewage from backing up into people’s homes, were measured using event duration monitors (EDMs).
However, Lib Dem research shows that monitors installed by water companies either don’t work at least 90 per cent of the time, or have no equipment installed at all.
Across England, 2,221 monitors are not functioning properly.
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Thames Water has the worst record of sewage monitor failures, with 33 per cent of its equipment not functioning properly, according to research by the Lib Dems.
This was followed by Southern Water and Yorkshire Water, with 18.5% of monitors failing.
Some of the equipment has been broken for two years.
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Lib Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron said: “Water companies may be complicit in environmental cover-ups. Why on earth would companies install these monitors if they don’t work at all?
“The scale of the sewage scandal may be bigger than initially feared and Conservative ministers are not interested in understanding the true extent of damage to our rivers and beaches.
“They’ve let the water companies off the hook every time and now they’re letting them get away with it without even monitoring the amount of dirty sewage being dumped.”
He added: “This scandal calls for a national environmental emergency to be declared and for the Conservative government to start focusing on this issue.
“Their inaction harms our environment and harms communities across the country.”
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A spokesman for UK Water said: “Water companies are committed to robust monitoring of storm overflows across England and all monitoring systems are now monitored – the most comprehensive and extensive monitoring in the world system.
“Partly because they operate outdoors and in various weather conditions, some monitors occasionally temporarily stop working during maintenance.
“The situation has improved and regulators have introduced tough new powers to ensure the highest standards.
“We are seeking regulatory approval to invest more than £10 billion over the next five years – three times the current investment rate – to increase the capacity of our sewers and eliminate more than 150,000 sewage leaks a year by the end of this decade. “
The issue has become a political battleground, with Labor pledging to ban bonuses to water company bosses and the Greens wanting to renationalize the companies.
And Michael Gove, the former environment secretary and now housing secretary, said Thames Water’s leadership this week was a “disgrace” and insisted those responsible for the failure must “pick up the can”.
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