Not long ago, at least 57 athletes developed diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms after participating in the swimming event of the World Triathlon World Championship Series in the United Kingdom. What brought down the "Iron Men"? It's polluted seawater. After the race, according to the results of the local environmental department, there were 3,900 E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters of seawater in the sea area of the competition, dozens of times higher than the safety standard. This has raised concerns about water pollution in the UK.
The beaches of Yorkshire, northeast England, are a traditional British holiday destination. In the past, people swam and surfed here, but now the situation has changed.
Wang Meng: Scarborough became Britain's earliest seaside resort more than 300 years ago. And more than 300 years later, since last year, there have been reminders on the seashore that the water is too bad to swim or surf.
According to what's on the board, there are five levels of seawater quality, and now it's the worst one. When the British media looked for the cause of the seawater pollution, it was discovered that the problem was with the water utilities.
The area is responsible for sewage treatment and piped water supply by York Water. York Water has always stressed that there are many reasons for poor water quality. But they can't avoid that one of the important causes is sewage overflow, that is, domestic sewage is not treated directly into the pipes leading to the ocean and then discharged from the outlet.
Many rivers in the UK face similar water pollution problems. Irsh, an environmentalist, grew up near the Wendrash River in the Oxford area. He said the river has gone from clear to turbid in the past few decades.
British environmentalist Ash Smith: The condition of the Wendrash River is very bad, the water is gray, there are no plants in it, no weeds, there are a few fish, but very, very little. This is common in the rivers of England.
The Windrash River is a tributary of the Thames and is 56 km long and flows through several cities. In the eighties of the last century, there were still a large number of creatures in the river.
British environmentalist Ash Smith: These pictures were taken here, in my neighbor's garden, where ducks and water weeds are common. It is a beautiful plant with a white flower on it. So many creatures lived in the river at that time, and now they have disappeared, completely gone.
In 2017, Ash launched his own investigation, and he prepared professional equipment to regularly and regularly monitor changes in water quality.
Thames Water is responsible for the region's piped water supply and wastewater treatment. Through his investigation, Ash believes that the discharge of sewage by water companies is almost the only cause of serious pollution of the river. According to a 2020 report by Thames Water, 4 wastewater treatment plants on the Windrash River discharge untreated sewage 228 times a year for 3,644 hours. It is worth noting that these discharges are approved by the local environmental authorities.
British environmentalist Ash Smith: The sewage pipes we see here, and there are families living five meters downstream. The water coming out of the pipes is gray and simply frustrating. Who knows? There is no sign here, no one has placed a sign here, telling everyone that this is sewage. Most of the time, this sewage doesn't remove E. coli, so it's full of bacteria that can make you sick.
Frequent water pollution in the UK Complete privatisation of water may be the main cause
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In 2022, the UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee released a scathing report saying that the water quality of England's rivers was among the worst in all of Europe and that pollution was already threatening the health of residents. Official figures show that only 16% of rivers, lakes and coastal waters in the UK meet the minimum standards of "good" ecological condition. Untreated sewage contains a large amount of harmful pathogens and phosphorus, which are directly discharged into the environment, causing harm to public health and putting great pressure on the environment.
The Guardian reported a series of alarming figures: Between May and September last year, water utilities discharged untreated sewage into bathing beaches more than 5,000 times. In the whole of last year, United Utilities discharged sewage nearly 70,000 times, Trent Water discharged sewage 44,765 times due to heavy rainfall overflow, and Southern Water discharged sewage to 83 beaches in eight days. In 2020, the UK Environment Agency received more than 400,000 reports of sewage spills. According to the UK Environment Department, there were more than 300,000 sewage discharge incidents in the UK in 2022, an average of 824 per day.
Why do UK water utilities discharge sewage so frequently? The UK drainage system adopts a combined rain and sewage system, with rainwater and domestic sewage transported to sewage treatment plants through the same pipes. When sewage and rainwater are overloaded, water utilities discharge untreated sewage directly into rivers and oceans.
However, when one delves deeper into the deeper causes of the UK's water pollution problem, it often falls on the privatisation of water. The UK is a country where water is fully privatized. In the 70s of last century, the British government set up 10 regional water boards in England and Wales according to the domestic water system, and implemented unified management of river basins. Investment expenditures in the water sector are borne by the UK government. In 1979, the Conservative Party, represented by Margaret Thatcher, came to power, advocating the privatization of state-owned enterprises, cutting welfare spending and reducing fiscal spending; Coupled with continued economic instability, water investment faces significant fiscal bottlenecks. In 1989, the British government enacted a new Water Act, transforming 10 regional water boards into 10 large basin joint-stock companies. Privatization gives water utilities monopoly power and lacks the necessary accountability, resulting in water utilities investing less and less in the public interest.
According to the UK's Environment Department, the amount of sewage discharged by water utilities in the UK has increased 29-fold in the past 5 years. A study by Imperial College London found that wastewater treatment plants in the UK are grossly undercapacity. According to the UK Water Authority, in 2010, 10 UK water utilities spent nearly £3 billion on wastewater infrastructure, but this figure fell to £2.7 billion 10 years later. Due to chronic underinvestment in water, some of the current water pipes in the London area still date back to the 19th century.
Source: CCTV News Client