BBC dry spills investigation goes England-wide

All English water companies could be responsible for potentially illegal dry spills, according to a BBC investigation.

The BBC cross-referenced spills data from nine wastewater companies with local Met Office rainfall data. It reported this analysis suggested sewage may have been discharged nearly 6,000 times when it had not been raining in 2022, including during the heatwave.

This followed similar analysis by the BBC in 2022 which found 388 possible dry spill incidents from Thames Water, Wessex Water and Southern Water – the only companies at that time to voluntarily share their data with the reporters. The other companies argued sharing the data could prejudice the investigations being carried out by Ofwat and the Environment Agency. However, the EA disagreed and subsequently shared England-wide data with the BBC.

Companies disputed the latest findings. According to the report, they said the spill data shared with the EA was unverified, and also disagreed with how the BBC defined a dry spill, which they said differed from the Environment Agency’s approach.

The BBC news item is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nn46rjej6o