Awareness of sewage pollution of rivers rises, but divides customers on paying more

A recent poll found that 58% of people would pay more on their water bill to reduce the use storm overflows, subject to the detail and cost, whereas 31% would not be prepared to pay more.

The finding came from new CCW research into customers’ awareness, perceptions and priorities on river water quality and storm overflow use. And 65% of those polled said the priority for any planned improvements should be to ensure rivers are healthy habitats for wildlife, while 10% said making rivers safe to swim in is most important.

The research found customer awareness of sewage in rivers has risen since May 2021. Untreated sewage is now the most commonly cited cause of river pollution in England and Wales (35%, up from 21%). 5% spontaneously cited pollution from sewage as a threat to the environment, up from 1%. The number who had ‘definitely seen’ media coverage about river or stream quality rose from 16% to 24%.

Despite this, CCW found people mainly have positive rather than negative associations with rivers and streams – more likely to see them as habitats for wildlife or for community use than to notice if they are dirty, littered or have low levels of water.

Moreover, river pollution from sewage came fourth (40%) when respondents were asked to pick their top three environmental issues affecting the UK, behind micro plastics in the environment (59%), air pollution (53%) and flooding from rivers and the sea (46%).

CCW said it would use the findings to influence and inform the key decisions that the industry and Government take on the future of storm overflows.