Reducing Sewage Pollution in Rivers and on Coastlines

The water industry has pledged £10 billion to upgrade the sewerage system by 2030, calling it “the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era.”

The reason it’s needed is because our sewage system is dealing with vast amounts of water and effluent, not just sewage from WCs, but also grey water from modern appliances, as well as rainwater from gullies. 

Climate change is causing our winters to become warmer and wetter, while also increasing the number of major weather events that cause large-scale flooding – even in areas previously deemed at lower risk.

Population growth has meant we’re building more houses and extending hard standing, which then adds to the volumes of water and wastewater being passed into the system.

And if this wasn’t enough, the sewer pipes are also being blocked by giant fatbergs, where people have flushed oil and fats down the sink, and items such as wet wipes down WCs.

As a result, our mains sewer capacity is at breaking point and the system has become increasingly overwhelmed. 

The safety valve for the industry (to prevent sewage flowing back up into WCs), gives utility companies permission to discharge overflows into rivers and into the sea when rainfall is deemed excessive.  But according to the Environment Agency, these overflows into our rivers and seas took place on average 825 times a day during 2022.  Where this happens regularly, the raw, untreated or partially treated effluent is having a devastating impact on the local fauna and flora. 

In addition to the action being taken by water companies, there are things we as individuals can do to reduce the pressures on the sewer system and on the environment.

One option is to reduce the amount of surface water going into the sewers during heavy rainfall, by capturing and storing rainwater in-situ. 

By installing rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems, like the fully integrated Klargester AquaHarvest, a four bedroom house can save up to 30,000 litres of water per year, capturing the rainwater/snow-melt that has fallen on a property roof, and then repurposing the water within the property to supplement domestic mains water supplies.  Rainwater can be used for flushing WCs, irrigating gardens, washing vehicles – even cleaning clothes. 

In addition to lowering our demand for highly processed mains water (even tap water has a carbon footprint) and reducing abstraction from freshwater resources, RWH systems will help bring down water bills, lessen the amount of surface water run off that passes into the sewer network, slow erosion in dry areas and help reduce flooding in at-risk areas (by attenuating excess stormwater run-off).