Labour to crack down on water firms as diseases soar

Waterborne diseases have "put thousands of people in hospital" since 2010, Labour said, as it vowed to put water companies dumping sewage into UK rivers and seas under special measures.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

Cases of waterborne diseases such as dysentery have soared by nearly 60 per cent in 14 years, according to the party’s analysis of NHS hospital admissions data. The number of people admitted to hospital with diseases transmitted via waterborne infection rose from 2,085 in 2010-11 to 3,286 in 2022-23, according to Labour.

The party said the statistics showed that in the last year alone more than 120 people were diagnosed with leptospirosis – a rare infection also known as Weil’s disease that can cause fever and vomiting – double the number diagnosed with the same condition in 2010. One of the ways of contracting the disease is by getting freshwater containing infected animal urine into your mouth, eyes or a cut during activities such as kayaking and outdoor swimming, according to the NHS.

The analysis comes as figures this week revealed storm overflows spilled sewage into rivers and seas for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023, more than double the previous year.

Data published by the Environment Agency showed sewage spills at their highest-ever levels, with 464,056 spills in 2023, up 54 per cent from 301,091 in 2022. And a marine biologist revealed this week that raw sewage being dumped in the English Channel has left every marine species in the water “full of cocaine, amphetamines and MDMA”.