Sewage pollution in rivers sparks call for urgent pumping station upgrades
Untreated sewage spilled into the River Avon for over 4000 hours last year
“Shocking” levels of sewage pollution in rivers have prompted calls for urgent investment in upgrading treatment works and pumping stations in Gloucestershire.
The River Avon had untreated sewage spilled into it for more than 4,000 hours last year, according to civic chiefs.
As a result Tewkesbury Borough Council wants to see an accelerated investment to cope with thousands of planned homes in the area.
Civic chiefs are so concerned about the scale of river pollution that they want a clear plan for managing the extra housing growth.
Councillors unanimously backed the motion which also included calling for improvements to pumping stations in the Severn and Isbourne which run through the borough.
They want to see urgent and accelerated investment at the sewage treatment works and pumping stations at Lower Lode and Twyning, bringing forward upgrades well before 2030.
Civic chiefs are also concerned about Ash Lane pumping station at Down Hatherley and the ‘Big Norm’ site which both serve a large area in the south of the Borough.
Councillor Matt Dimond-Brown (G, Tewkesbury South) put forward the motion at the meeting on September 30.
It also calls for immediate measures to guarantee full-year monitoring at all discharge points in the Borough.
“This borough is shaped by its rivers, from the Avon and the Severn to the smaller brooks and streams that run through our parishes; water is part of our landscape, economy and daily lives,” he said.
“Rivers bring people here, they support tourism, farming and fishing.
“They provide places for families to walk and play and they define oru communities just as much as our roads, schools and shops.
“And yet today these rivers are being treated as open sewers.
“In 2024, Twynning Sewage Treatment Works spilled untreated sewage for 1,883 hours.
“That’s the equivalent of nearly three months of continuous dumping.”
He said Lower Lode STW added a further 1,292 hours and Lower Lode Sewage pumping station monitored more than 500 – only worked for 41 per cent of the year.
“If it had run all year, the true figure would have been closer to 1,250 hours. Taken together, just these three local sites poured out nearly 4,500 hours of untreated sewage into the Avon last year.
“That’s about a quarter of all the sewage hours discharged into the Severn Trent stretch of the Avon.”
He said the water firm does not plan major upgrades at these sites until 2030 at the earliest while almost 2,000 new homes are being approved in the catchment.
“That’s thousands of new toilets, showers, dishwashers all feeding into systems that are already failing.”
Cllr Dimond-Brown said the council is “indebted” to the 70 community scientists who make up the Safe Avon project.
He said their careful monitoring and persistence have brought the scale of the issue into the light.
“The Safe Avon work underpins this motion and deserves our thanks,” he said.
He accepted amendments from Liberal Democrat Sarah Hands (Innsworth) and Conservative Jim Mason (C, Isborune) which sought to include the rivers Severn and Isbourne in the proposals.
And Deputy Mayor George Porter (LD, Shurdington) was scathing with his criticism of Severn Trent.
“It is absolutely disgraceful the way Severn Trent is allowed to run roughshod over our beautiful rivers that appear on our coat of arms,” he said.
“We must hold Severn Trent to account. We will be adding our voices to a number of district councils and unitary authorities that have had enough of water companies sending out shocking amounts of sewage into our rivers.”
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the motion which was met with applause across the chamber.
Severn Trent say they are investing £160m in the county to reduce the use of storm overflow and on a project to help improve river health.
They say this part of a £2bn region-wide investment which is already having an impact in Gloucestershire and Tewkesbury, with all three overflows in this area currently seeing around a 65 per cent reduction in spills, with monitors currently working for around 95% of the time.
“We plan to have completed thousands of storm overflow and river improvement projects across our region by this autumn, including at Twyning where we’re already increased sewage storage capacity” a spokesperson said.
“We look forward to receiving the council’s comments and will provide a full response to any concerns raised.”