Thames Water overflow pipe pumped waste for 1,000 hours into London wetlands last year Exclusive: water firms discharged raw sewage into England’s rivers 200,000 times in 2019 Sandra Laville Environment correspondent Thu 2 Jul 2020 15.00 BSTLast modified on Thu 2 Jul 2020 22.02 BST Shares 368 The Olympic Park area of wetlands was created as a legacy project to create a haven for plants, animals and insects. The Olympic Park area of wetlands was created as a legacy project to create a haven for plants, animals and insects. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian Raw sewage was discharged for more than 1,000 hours from a Thames Water overflow pipe into an environmental wetland at the Olympic Park last year, the Guardian can reveal. The combined sewer overflow (CSO) at Mulberry Court pumped untreated waste 91 times into the waterway that feeds into the River Lea. To April this year, the same CSO has so far discharged for 34 hours in 20 incidents. The area of wetlands in east London was created as part of the development of the Olympic Park. It was hailed as a legacy project to create a haven for plants, animals and insects for the public to enjoy. Dee O’Connell, a campaigner at the London Waterkeeper charity, tweeted live footage of one of the spills. Data obtained by the Guardian and London Waterkeeper, which is campaigning for a “Thames fit to swim in”, reveals the scale of the discharges that have been permitted by the Environment Agency. The sewage from the Mulberry Court CSO is discharged into a watercourse system in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park wetlands, which feed into the Lea. The data reveals the CSO discharged 91 times over 1,026 hours in 2019. On 30 September, untreated sewage was released into the wetlands for 49 hours. On 8 November, 90 hours of untreated sewage discharged from the overflow pipe. The Guardian revealed this week that more than 1.5m hours of untreated sewage was discharged into English rivers last year via CSOs. The data, obtained under environmental information requests, gives the most comprehensive picture of the scale of sewage discharges the Environment Agency allows water companies to carry out. Theo Thomas, the founder of London Waterkeeper, said: “The Olympic Park is the biggest urban park built in a generation. It was meant to be a legacy project but 1,000 hours of sewage was spilled last year into the wetlands. “This is a public park and what is happening is unacceptable in 2020. It shows a callous disregard for public spaces and our environment.” Thomas is campaigning with Surfers Against Sewage for water companies to stop releasing untreated sewage into rivers. Hugo Tagholm of Surfers Against Sewage said: “The health of our rivers is inextricably linked to the health of our ocean. Polluted rivers will always lead to a polluted ocean. We need connected and thriving aquatic ecosystems, free from sewage and pollution.” Feargal Sharkey, the Undertones lead singer and a keen fly fisherman, said the Environment Agency was complicit in allowing the pollution of rivers through storm overflows. “They know perfectly well what is going on. They have known about it for decades and refused to properly deal with the situation,” he said. The release of untreated sewage and waste water is permitted in extraordinary circumstances – such as extreme rainfall – to relieve pressure in the system. But critics say the Guardian’s data shows how routine sewage dumping in inland waters is. A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “The sewage system is designed to overflow to relieve pressure on the system – discharges from CSOs are not a sign that the system is faulty or being misused. “However, when companies do damage the environment, whether it is through polluting our waters or breaching permit conditions, we will take enforcement action against them including civil sanctions.” Thames Water said: “We have invested heavily in monitoring equipment to understand how frequently spills are made to the environment, and to better target investment in the best solutions. “Any discharge is undesirable but they only happen when there is literally no alternative and to prevent flooding to homes. It is the way the system is designed to operate.” • Statements from the water companies can be read in full here.