How can we accept water companies releasing sewage into our seas every time it rains hard? Storm overflows used to only happen occasionally. They now seem to happen all the time.
Stories like this are happening more and more, all around the UK but also here in Folkestone and Hythe, Sewage was dumped into our sea and rivers 369 times in 2023 for a total of 3836 hours. That's the equivalent of dumping into the sea just over 10 hours a day every single day of the year. Every. Single. Day.
It all started from water company deregulation under a Conservative government. But we've reached the point that we just cannot go on like this. Our communities deserve better.
Stop the Sewage
2023 was officially the worst year for sewage dumping on record. There were 464,056 dumping incidents in total, wreaking havoc on the environment, and endangering wildlife and public health. We need urgent action to tackle pollution, not a Government that facilitates it. The water industry must be reformed so profit is no longer put above environmental goals, something the Liberal Democrats have been consistently fighting for. Back our Stop the Sewage campaign - sign today.