3.5 billion litres of sewage released into the Thames in 2020

More than 3.5 billion litres of untreated sewage was reportedly discharged into the River Thames in 2020, two billion of that figure across just two days in October.

Last month’s Water Quality and River’s Report showed the amount of sewage making its way in to the river is significantly higher than in previous years.

In the report, Chief Executive of Thames Water, Sarah Bentley, claimed heavy rain was to blame for the October incident, and that Mogden Wastewater Treatment Works had been ‘inundated’ due to the weather.

Only last year Thames Water was fined £4 million for the 2016 breach, when almost 80 million litres of sewage flooded a park in New Malden.

An EA investigation into the Mogden incident is pending.

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