Water companies told to 'step up' over river sewage

The village of Lambourn is still experiencing sewage issues

Water companies and local authorities have been urged to do more to tackle the problem of sewage being discharged into a river.

Anna Forbes, senior project officer at Action for the River Kennet (ARK), said the River Lambourn in Berkshire was supposed to be clear, but instead it was grey with sewage.

She said the problem was "not unique to the village" and urged "the government, water companies and regulators" to get it fixed.

Thames Water apologised and said it was carrying out daily clean-ups, adding it believed there had been a "minimal impact on the environment" because the sewage was diluted.

The River Lambourn is a tributary of the River Kennet flowing "right through the heart of the village of Lambourn", Ms Forbes said.

It is a chalk stream - a river rising from permeable chalk - that are usually very clear.

Ms Forbes said sewage - including "solids" and "used loo paper" - was coming up through manhole covers in Lambourn and being "brushed straight into that river", something she said was only a "temporary fix".

She said the groundwater levels were high, but this "isn't a new problem for the village" because there was just "insufficient infrastructure to deal with the volumes of sewage and the amount of water".

Chalk streams are supposed to have clear water, campaigner Anna Forbes said

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said the sewage discharges were "unacceptable", and that Thames Water needed "to learn from this incident".

"We continue to monitor the ongoing situation and have actioned Thames Water to produce a plan setting out what the company will do to reduce the pollution risks," they said.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said high groundwater and saturated ground meant a "significant amount" of water was "entering the local sewer system and causing flooding from manholes".

It said it was "working hard to keep our sewers flowing" and "regard any untreated discharges as unacceptable".