CAMPAIGNING TO CLEAN UP OUR RIVERS
In 2023, the River Spodden and River Roch in Rochdale experienced significant sewage pollution. According to data from the Environment Agency and other sources, the River Spodden was polluted 179 times for a total duration of 796 hours. This averages to about 3.4 times a week. The most significant contributor was the Spotland Bridge CSO, which accounted for 89 of these spills.
Similarly, the River Roch faced 1,105 sewage dumps in 2023, totaling 4,343 hours. This means that, on average, sewage was being dumped three times a day. The Milnrow Road/Fishwick Street CSO was one of the major contributors, discharging into the River Roch 90 times for a total of 93 hours.
Andy Lord told Focus “This disgraceful failure to keep our environment clean has got to end. We pay water rates to these companies and they should use that money to sort out this mess before paying bonuses to big bosses and dividends to shareholders!”
Recent Developments
United Utilities, the company responsible for managing these combined sewer overflows (CSOs), has been under increasing pressure to address the issue. Despite their commitment to reducing spills and improving monitoring, the frequency and duration of sewage dumps remain a significant concern for local communities and environmental groups.
Liberal Democrat Councillors and MP’s, working with environmental activists, have been vocal about the need for more stringent regulations and better infrastructure to prevent sewage pollution. There are ongoing discussions about potential solutions, including upgrading sewer systems and increasing investment in sustainable water management practices.
The map on the right shows how much this went on in 2023 into the Spodden upstream of Healey Dell. Unfortunately the data is incomplete because the sanitary sewage overflow at Whitworth is not monitored due to “technical issues” and therefore there is no data for this outflow. Also the volume of discharge is not published. Often the water companies have these figures but don’t release them.
Another issue the Liberal Democrats uncovered is that over one in six monitors were found to be ‘faulty’ and the number of discharges is potentially much higher than feared. An ITV investigation named our local supplier, United Utilities, as being among the worst offenders.
A new analysis of Companies House records and financial reporting has revealed 10 water firms paid no tax at all in 2022/2023. In the previous year it was just 1. Whilst water firms have benefited from government tax cuts, they have paid out over £1bn in dividends to their overseas owners, according to the regulators, Ofwat. At the same time the company has been paying bonuses to it’s top bosses.
Now, to add insult to injury, United Utilities are proposing an above inflation increase in Water Charges of 8%, whilst failing to keep our waterways clean.
Andy Lord stated that “We need to see the water companies stop paying dividends to overseas investors and bonuses to their top brass until they have cleaned up both their act, and our polluted waterways.”
