Number of sewage spills in waterways is still far to high

LINCOLNSHIRE'S environment boss has argued that the amount of raw sewage entering open watercourses in the county is "still too much", despite improvements being made on the issue.

- BY JAMES TURNER

Conservative Councillor Colin Davie, portfolio holder for economic development, environment, and planning at Lincolnshire County Council, has insisted water companies need to do more to prevent the problem, and called on regulator Ofwat to do more to hold them to account.

According to data from the Environment Agency, water companies spilled raw sewage into the sea and rivers in England for a record 3.61 million hours in 2024.

Water companies have previously highlighted actions already taken to reduce the number of spills - which are permitted during periods of heavy rainfall through 'storm overflows' as well as planned future improvements.

Anglian Water plans to invest £1 billion over the next five years to tackle these spills. "Any sewage going into the open watercourses is something we should be doing everything we can to prevent," said Cllr Davie.