Sewage spills into Norfolk river for nine days

Horning is a popular spot for boaters visiting the Norfolk Broads

As storms have swept across the county, an overflow has been spilling sewage into a Broads river for nine days.

According to Anglian Water's live monitoring assets, waste has been discharged into the River Ant from a pipe in Horning, Norfolk, since 19 November.

The company has blamed persistent high groundwater levels, which have not subsided since last year's record-breaking rainfall.

A spokeswoman at Anglian Water said: "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously, with significant investment and activity under way to tackle the CSO problem."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the spillage started before Storm Bert.

The overflow is located near the Knackers Wood sewage works and flows into the River Ant.

Horning is said to be one of Anglian Water's more difficult locations to manage due to the low-laying nature of the Broads.

Figures from the Environment Agency showed the same storm overflow had discharged into the same river for 1,747 hours in 2023, in 91 spills.

'Ageing infrastructure'

A spokeswoman for Anglian Water said the wet weather had been a "contributor to the storm overflow activation".

"We are working at Horning Water Recycling Centre to upgrade technology and equipment to address problems caused by infiltration.

"This is because Horning has a very high water table and unstable ground conditions, meaning groundwater levels – which are still very high after last year's historic wet winter – are causing ingress into our sewer network."

The water company said it had plans to invest £1bn into tackling storm spills, which it was discussing with Ofwat.

Steffan Aquarone, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, said last year there had been 530 sewage spills in his constituency.

"The current spill in Horning is reflective of the scale of the sewage issue," he said.

"I have demanded that Anglian Water invests more into our ageing sewage infrastructure, which can no longer handle the increased amounts of rainwater brought on by climate change.

"This is the only way that we can finally stop sewage spills and protect our precious coastline."