River health targeted with £250m from water firm

Severn Trent Water said its long-term plan would limit the number of times sewage entered rivers in bad weather

A water company has said it will spend more than £250m on measures to improve the health of rivers in Shropshire.

Severn Trent Water said it would invest in 167 storm overflows in the county over a 25-year period to limit sewage spills into waterways.

Measures could include increasing the capacity of storage tanks, said the company, and all of its storm overflows would be closely monitored.

The investment would bring benefits to rivers now and in years to come, it stated.

The aim was to ensure that by 2040 no overflow would spill more than 10 times in an average year in "high priority" areas, said Severn Trent, with the plan covering all areas by 2045, five years ahead of government targets.

Bob Stear, Severn Trent's chief engineer, said the announcement of the investment marked another "significant milestone" in its drive to deliver "real improvements" in river health.

Storm overflows are designed to prevent sewage backing up into properties and mains pipes bursting when heavy rain or snow exceeds sewer capacity, states the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Water-diluted sewage "overflows" into rivers and seas but there were strict permit conditions for when and how they should be used, in order to protect the environment, it said.

Environment Agency data from 2022 revealed an average of 825 sewage spills into England's waterways per day.

A total of 44,765 spills were recorded for Severn Trent over the same year-long period.