A Song of Sewage and Leaks: The Epic Saga of UK Water Pollution

Water companies versus Ofwat—another gripping saga, like watching a soggy episode of "Game of Thrones" but with fewer dragons and more plumbing issues. Ofwat’s grand master plan aims to keep average household bill hikes to a dainty 21% (£19) per year until 2030. The water firms, however, are splashing back, claiming that's barely enough to dampen their whistles, let alone tackle the impending water shortages. Now, these proposed hikes might make a few wallets wail, but they’re still a third less than what the water moguls originally demanded. The extra cash is earmarked for plugging leaks and reducing those charming sewage discharges into our beloved rivers and seas. It's all very picturesque, isn't it? Speaking of picturesque, regional disparities abound. Thames Water customers, brace yourselves for a 23% hike (£99), Anglian Water customers get off lightly with a 13% increase (£66), and Southern Water customers, well, they'll need smelling salts for a 44% rise (£183). It’s a far cry from the companies' original wish lists—Thames Water wanted £191 but got trimmed to £99, and Severn Trent’s £144 ask was slashed to £93. These numbers aren’t set in stone yet, mind you. Water firms can still kick up a fuss, with the final verdict due by year’s end and increases slated for an April Fool’s surprise.

The new Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, who’s been chatting with water company bigwigs, has been pushing for initial steps to detox our waterways since landing at the Labour’s office while nixing the idea of nationalising water companies, calling it a pricey and slow-moving solution. Since privatisation 30 years ago, water firms have paid out a whopping £53bn in dividends and poured over £200bn into infrastructure. Yet, sewage spills into England's waterways have more than doubled in 2023, with 3.6 million hours of spills—twice the 1.75 million hours in 2022, according to the Environment Agency. Thames Water, the UK's largest and most beleaguered water firm, is under fresh scrutiny from Ofwat. The debt-laden giant claims it has enough cash to float until the end of May next year while it hunts for new investments. Ofwat has demanded a "delivery action plan" with regular progress reports, scrutinised by a third party. Leaving this battle of “Blackwater” here for now…

As much as I'd love to imagine that our water woes could be confined to the realm of ever-increasing bill hikes and the battle between Ofwat and the water companies, the reality is decidedly less fantastical and rather more dire—think of it as Cersei Lannister obsessing over the competition among the Seven Kingdoms while blissfully ignoring the looming threat of the White Walkers. One can only hope we don’t meet a fate akin to the unfortunate denizens of King's Landing! Trust me, when I say the state of our ground waters is a far graver concern than a mere 21% rise in our water bills over the coming years. Take, for example, the events of March this year (2024), right before the Oxbridge Boat Race which shockingly raised the alarm in another aspect. Our intrepid comrades, the citizen scientists at River Action and the Fulham Reach Boat Club, took to the waters armed with nothing more than an E. coli analyser and a sense of grim determination. Between 28 February and 26 March, they discovered "alarmingly high" levels of E. coli—high enough to make you rethink that lovely riverside picnic. E. coli, that versatile little bugger bacteria, can cause everything from bladder infections and stomach cramps to vomiting and, in severe cases, life-threatening blood poisoning. Sources include animal waste, agricultural runoff, and our old favourite—sewage. They found an average of 2,869 E. coli colony-forming units (CFU) per 100ml of water around Hammersmith Bridge, which is a bit like discovering your tap water's been spiked with swamp juice. This is way above the bathing water quality standard of below 1,000 CFU per 100ml. In fact, they clocked a peak of 9,801 CFU, making it almost ten times dirtier than waters classified as "poor" by the Environment Agency. The government's advice is pretty clear: don't bathe unless you're feeling particularly adventurous or have a robust immune system. The pollution source? Our prime suspect is Thames Water, allegedly dumping sewage into the river for a staggering 1,914 hours from January to March. That's 79 out of 85 days—talk about commitment! Now, the venerable rowers from Cambridge and Oxford are set to splash through this microbial soup, vying for glory in the historic Boat Race. With such "rich" water quality, River Action, British Rowing, and The Rivers Trust have issued fresh guidance to the rowers: cover your cuts, don’t gulp the river, wear appropriate footwear, and scrub down your gear thoroughly. It's practically a survival guide. In their defence, Thames Water cites higher than average rainfall and groundwater levels, causing the sewer system to overflow. They insist these discharges are a necessary evil to prevent sewage from backing up into homes. They're working on upgrades, including a £100m revamp of the Mogden sewage treatment works to handle more waste and reduce these delightful overflows.

The concerns around pathogenic bacteria in UK rivers aren't limited to the River Thames. Record-high levels of E. coli in the River Nidd were also found to be at staggering levels. The first round of sampling conducted by Nidd Action Group volunteers indicated almost all samples taken breached the ‘sufficient’ level for inland bathing, significantly exceeding the bathing-safe threshold. The Oak Beck in Harrogate turned a lovely shade of mud-brown, causing local conservationists to warn kids to steer clear and for dog owners to keep their pooches on a tight leash. The Knaresborough Bed Race participants were even advised to "keep your head above water" while crossing the River Nidd, due to its less-than-sparkling quality. We’ll be hearing more about this spin-off in the new “season”, at least that’s what the monitoring action groups promised.

Adding another layer to the bacterial woes in UK waters, let's delve into the thorny issue of "antibiotic-resistant" bacterial pollution. Imagine it as a twisted version of natural selection, where the antibiotics lurking in our rivers act like an elite club's bouncer, letting only the toughest bacteria in. This selective pressure ensures that only antibiotic-resistant strains, such as resistant E. coli, survive and multiply. Consequently, our rivers become hotbeds for these hardy, hard-to-kill bacteria, creating a breeding ground for even more resilient strains of E. coli. Recent studies reveal rivers near factory farms teeming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The first UK report of its kind found superbugs, bacteria resistant to antibiotics, in rivers and streams around factory farms. Two notorious bacteria, E. coli and S. aureus, were found in antibiotic-resistant strains in rivers adjacent to pig and chicken farms and in runoff from intensive dairy farms. This alarming research by World Animal Protection, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has sparked urgent calls for a ban on routine antibiotic use in healthy farm animals.

An estimated 80% of UK-farmed animals live on factory farms. These crowded, squalid conditions necessitate widespread preventative antibiotic use, without which the animals wouldn't survive. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria from these farms flow into rivers, posing a threat to humans through drinking water, swimming, recreational activities, and consuming fish from contaminated waters. World Animal Protection warned that our rivers are awash with superbugs, with the World Health Organisation predicting antibiotic resistance will be the leading cause of death globally by 2050, with an economic cost of £66 trillion. Cóilín Nunan of the Soil Association has pointed out a rather grim fact: over a million people worldwide perish each year due to antibiotic resistance. The problem is glaring: antibiotics are worming their way into rivers through improperly treated wastewater from hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, or agricultural runoff where antibiotics from livestock seep into waterways, boosting the growth of resistant bacteria. (The fix? Proper monitoring and regulation of sewage dumps from health and industrial sectors, and slashing antibiotic use by keeping animals in tip-top shape so they rarely need a dose of the stuff. Much like the Night's Watch guarding the Wall, we need vigilant guardians to patrol our rivers and keep the threat of superbugs at bay).

The Thames and other UK rivers haven’t managed to escape this unfortunate fate, with various antibiotics making an appearance like White Walkers breaching The Wall. Universities and environmental agencies across the UK are on the job though, conducting research and monitoring programmes to tackle antibiotic pollution and resistant bacteria in rivers. Their findings generally confirm the link between antibiotic presence and higher levels of resistant bacteria. But this isn’t just a local issue. The UN has issued a stark warning that antibiotic-resistant bacteria could result in up to 10 million deaths by 2050, which is rather a sobering thought. The reality is, many resistance genes found in human pathogens actually come from environmental bacteria. It's like bacteria are playing a sneaky game of genetic pass-the-parcel, with the "gift" being antibiotic resistance.

A grander study of rivers from the Thames to the Tigris has revealed that antibiotics are found at levels higher than what’s deemed safe. In the Thames River, once hailed as one of Europe’s cleanest rivers, a medley of five antibiotics was found contaminating its waters. One site on the Thames and three on its tributaries exceeded safe levels. Ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to treat skin and urinary tract infections, was discovered at more than three times the safe level. So much for a refreshing dip! The study covered 711 sites across 72 countries, finding antibiotics in 65% of these sites. In 111 sites, concentrations exceeded safe levels, with the worst cases being over 300 times the safe limit. Lower-income countries bore the brunt, with higher antibiotic concentrations, especially in locations in Africa and Asia. Bangladesh, for instance, had metronidazole at over 300 times the safe level near a wastewater treatment facility.

Researchers plan to assess the impact of antibiotic pollution on wildlife, including fish, invertebrates, and algae. The prognosis isn’t rosy, with some Kenyan rivers having antibiotic levels so high that no fish could survive—a total population crash, as Alistair Boxall, an environmental scientist at the University of York who co-led the study, puts it. The situation is both "scary and depressing," he added, with significant portions of the environment potentially harbouring antibiotic levels high enough to drive resistance. It seems our rivers, much like the inhabitants of Westeros, are fighting a relentless battle for survival against an ever-encroaching enemy.

Well, with all the sad facts laid bare, there might still be some hope for the issue domestically. In a bid to placate public fury over our rivers, lakes, and seas becoming a veritable sewage soup, the Government is now demanding water companies fit real-time monitors at every sewage outlet, with data to be scrupulously examined by water regulators. This decision was issued by the Labour government last Tuesday. The legislative crackdown covers England and Wales, prompted by the escalating public ire over grubby rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, rising water bills, and the lavish bonuses and dividends enjoyed by water company execs. This grand scheme, as outlined in the King’s Speech, aims to slap water company bigwigs with personal criminal liability if they foul up water quality laws, and hand Ofwat the power to cut off their bonuses if they miss environmental targets. Additionally, water companies will now face a new code of conduct where irate customers can drag board members over the coals.

Since the announcements, the sorry state of our rivers has become a political hot potato. Water companies, already slammed with hefty fines for illegal pollution, are also grappling with leaks and financial woes – and it’s only set to worsen with the impacts of climate change. Amidst this mess, Labour is striving to navigate a financial crisis at Thames Water, with promises of a more profound overhaul of the water industry to restore our natural waters. Environmental advocates remain cautiously optimistic, awaiting the specifics on additional powers and funding for regulators to hold water companies accountable. We’ll see how this all pans out.

Meanwhile, let us light candles to the Seven for King’s Landing and all the waters of Westeros and Essos! With the favour of the Old and New Gods, we might just avoid a Blackwater fate for our beloved rivers. After all, in the spirit of ‘Valar Dohaeris,’ all must serve, and that includes everyone standing watch—Ofwat, water companies, and the water technology sectors—to keep our waters safe.

August 2024

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