12MILLION CUBIC METRES OF RAW SEWAGE DUMPED INTO THAMES THIS SUMMER

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 8th Oct 2004

Shocking new figures revealed today by London Assembly Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for health, Dee Doocey, shows that more than 12 million cubic metres of raw sewage was pumped into the Thames during the summer.

The new figures, revealed exclusively to Dee Doocey, show that between the 18th April and the 18th August 2004, 12,313,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage was released into the river. This not only includes the 2.6million cubic metres released in August, but more than 2.8million cubic metres released on one day alone in May.

Dee Doocey has called on the Ministers at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to reverse their decision to postpone the 'interceptor' tunnel that would prevent the need for raw sewage to be regularly pumped into the Thames. The delay in building the tunnel has already increased costs from an estimated £600m to an estimated £1.5bn.

Dee Doocey said:-

"These figures are an absolute disgrace. So much sewage being pumped into the Thames is bad for the environment, bad for human health and bad for the image of the Thames.

"The dumping of raw sewage into the Thames is something that happened in the Victorian era. It certainly should not be happening in the 21st century in one of the most developed capital city's in the world.

"It is incredible that despite all the predictions that global warming would cause more violent storms and heavier downpours, London's sewer system is totally unprepared and unable to cope and pumping millions of raw sewage into the Thames.

"There must be no more discussion, delay or dithering on building this interceptor tunnel. The longer Ministers drag their feet in making the inevitable decision to build the tunnel, the more this will ultimately cost the taxpayer to build."

ENDS

Notes to editor

• Figures below are taken from the Environment Agency and show the

rainfall and discharge quantities for the largest events April-August 2004

Date Total Discharge

(cubic metres)

18/04/04 - 1,021,000

27/04/04 - 1,600,000

03/05/04 - 817,000

04/05/04 - 2,803,000

01/06/04 - 513,000

23/06/04 - 1,529,000

27/06/04 - 645,000

07/07/04 - 747,000

03/08/04 - 886,000

10/08/04 - 1,111,000

18/08/04 - 641,000

Total discharge is for only 5 of the largest outfalls (Abbey Mills, Western, Lots Road, Hammersmith and Greenwich Pumping Stations)

• On Monday 4th October DEFRA published its final water pricing review and guidance and concluded:-

"2.5. The Government recognised in the Principal Guidance that the Thames Tideway needs further measures to address discharges. In the medium term, improvements to continuous waste water discharges from three sewage treatment works which discharge to the Thames to ensure compliance with statutory requirements under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive are to go ahead. In addition, there will be further schemes to improve water quality in the river and protect fish under the local schemes programme in the RIA (see paragraph 3.20).

< 2.6. With respect to intermittent discharges from combined sewer overflows to the Thames Tideway, the Principal Guidance noted that work was being carried out by Thames Water and the Environment Agency to inform decisions. While the proposed interceptor tunnel might still emerge as the most appropriate long-term solution, the Government has since decided that, bearing in mind the scale, the costs and the long implementation timescale, further consideration is necessary before decisions are reached. The Government has therefore asked Thames Water and the Environment Agency to undertake further work on the interceptor tunnel proposal and on other measures that might be alternative or additional. This further work is to include smaller-scale measures and those that could bring earlier improvements on intermittent discharges.< Robustness of the system and emergencies"

• Thames Water spent £4million on a study, which revealed that the establishment of the interceptor tunnel would take about ten years to build and cost £1.5billion.