More than half a million hours of raw sewage has been discharged into water across the West of England by Wessex Water since 2016, new figures have revealed.

Raw sewage is discharged upstream of Warleigh Weir near Bath | Photo © IanRedding / Shutterstock.com
According to analysis of data from the Environment Agency by the Labour Party, the Bath-based water firm spent 565,066 hours discharging sewage between 2016 and 2021 into the natural environment, including bathing spots such as rivers and lakes.
In 2016, the Environment Agency recorded 1,416 sewage spills in the region, however by 2021, that figure had rocketed to 23,524.
The significant rise between 2016 and 2021 is likely due to the increased installation of monitoring systems at discharge sites.
The Labour Party, which obtained the data under Freedom of Information laws, has warned that the full scale of pollution in the environment could be much worse.
Dan Norris, Labour’s West of England Metro Mayor, has criticised the successive Conservative governments for allowing water giants to “cut corners” to “pump filthy raw sewage into our waters”.
He said firms have failed to invest in better infrastructure to address the problem, preferring instead to pay dividends and bonuses.
He said: “The Tories continuing to allow water giants to cut corners and pump filthy raw sewage into the West of England’s waters isn’t just an attack on our precious natural environment, it’s a public health catastrophe.
“Local people shouldn’t have to worry about whether their local beauty spots are sewage infested. Enough is enough.
“Only Labour can clean up the 12 years-worth of Tory mess by ensuring water bosses are held legally and financially accountable for their recklessness with our rivers and lakes, and by toughening up regulations that allow the system to be abused.”
A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “We’re investing £150 million between 2022 and 2025 on overflows, starting with those that discharge most frequently or have any environmental impact.
“We’re the first UK water company to provide overflow discharge alerts 365 days a year and more than 80% of overflows in our region have monitors installed, rising to 100% by the end of 2023.”