Study of River Sewage Discharges

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 7th Jul 2003

Thames Water and the Environment Agency are both looking at the impact of sewage discharges into the Thames in storm conditions.

It has long been the case that when there is very heavy rain sewers overflow and excess flows, including untreated sewage, is diverted into the river.

This can be a problem in summer since when flows are low the pollutants are not rapidly discharged into the Thames estuary; fish can be killed and the water is unhealthy for river users (rowers, canoeists, sailors and anglers). (There is no danger in terms of drinking water which is taken upstream of Teddington Weir.)

The study is being carried out in term so of possible solutions at the 60 discharge points from Teddington to Dartford.

Vincent Cable said: "the river is much cleaner than it once was and old style industrial pollution has largely gone. But I hadn't appreciated the extent of sewage discharges into the river and the fact that we are still living with a system devised by the Victorians when standards and expectations were much lower".

"Unfortunately nothing is free and the cost of cleaning up the Thames is likely to be £1 to 3 billion for tax payers and water users".