Sewage pumped into river for more than three weeks

Untreated sewage went into the River Coln for 141 days last year

There are serious concerns after sewage was discharged into a river for more than 23 consecutive days and counting.

A storm overflow for the treatment works at Fairford has been discharging into the River Coln continuously for more than 560 hours since 23 September.

Cotswolds Rivers Trust is concerned because the second storm overflow in Fairford has not been working for approximately four weeks.

A Thames Water spokesperson said it plans to upgrade 250 of their sites across the region, including the sewage treatment works in Fairford.

'Pouring continuously'

The storm overflow began discharging untreated sewage on 23 September at 05.30 BST and has done so everyday since, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Cotswolds Rivers Trust is concerned because this is not the first time sewage has been pumped into the River Coln in Fairford via the Thames Water storm overflow in 2024.

The overflow had been pumping sewage into the river for more than 900 hours earlier in the year.

"Fairford Sewage Treatment Works storm overflow has now been discharging untreated sewage for over 500 hours straight, meaning untreated sewage has been pouring continuously into the River Coln for over 20 days,” a spokesperson for the trust said.

A Thames Water spokesperson said while all storm discharges are "unacceptable", the sewage system "was historically designed to work in this way, to prevent sewage backing up into people’s homes".

“We know how much people enjoy and appreciate rivers, and we are committed to seeing waterways thrive, but we can’t do it alone," they added.

"Farming, industry, road runoff, wildlife and increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health.

“As infrastructure ages and demand on it increases, more investment is needed across the entire sector.

"That’s why we’ve asked for increased investment in the next regulatory cycle between 2025-2030."

Regulator Ofwat is due to make a decision on bills in December.

But, the unions have called claims for higher bills "absolute balderdash".

"Water companies have had the money, failed to invest in plugging leaks and preventing sewage spills and now want more money to do what they failed to do," said Gary Carter, GMB's national officer.