6 in 10 longest sewage discharges in England last year happened in Cumbria
Local MP Tim Farron has demanded the Government take action to stop sewage dumping in local lakes and rivers after it was revealed that six of the top 10 longest discharges in England last year happened in Cumbria.
New data from the Environment Agency shows that in South Lakeland, sewage was discharged at the Cark in Cartmel pumping station into the River Eea for over 4420 hours last year.
Meanwhile sewage was dumped at the wastewater treatment works in Staveley for 4063 hours into the River Kent. An application for bathing water status for this area was recently rejected by the Government.
The top 10 longest sewage discharges in England in 2022 were:
- Plumbland WWTW, Cumbria - 6896 hours
- Whissendine WWTW, Rutland - 6646 hours
- St Paul's Road CSO, Lancashire - 5582 hours
- Lune Street Pumping Station, Lancashire - 5336 hours
- Kirk Bampton WWTW, Cumbria - 5123 hours
- Ravenglass STW, Cumbria - 4603 hours
- Galloper Pool SW, Cumbria - 4466 hours
- Cark in Cartmel PS, Cumbria - 4420 hours
- Liverpool Road CSO, Staffordshire - 4138 hours
- Staveley WWTW, Cumbria - 4063 hours
Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons last night on sewage discharges, Tim said: "We hear the Government saying that the polluter should pay. Yes, the polluters pay: they pay themselves massive bonuses.
"In Cumbria and across the country, we are outraged. It is not just about the threat to the biodiversity of our lakes and rivers, to our fish stocks, to those who swim, to our pets using our waterways and to the tourism economy that underpins the Lake District.
"It is also about the deep injustice that large corporations are raking in enormous profits, while this Government are doing nothing to stop them pumping sewage into the waterways that we value so dearly in Cumbria and elsewhere."