Forum Topic

Mogden Sewage

Isleworth has so much sewage going into the Thames it has killed a seal. My son worked in Isleworth for an Electronics company and that was years ago he said the smell was disgusting.  Front page of the Forum.

Barbara Stevens ● 1475d23 Comments

https://weownit.org.uk/blog/heres-how-actually-clean-our-rivers-and-seas

Philippa Bond ● 1471d

I remember a Mogden Residents Action Group from years ago.  They took Thames Water to court.  At least with the Thames there is some action with the building of the new supersewer due to be finished in 2025.  That doesn't mean that we should do nothing though as we should be making sure we don't cause fatbergs and the mess of wet wipes that can be found in the river.  Just don't flush them!  What is worrying is that all the water companies now being allowed to dump raw sewage in our waterways when they need to - and just look at them all...https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-60046320https://www.sas.org.uk/latest-news/https://www.citytosea.org.uk/campaign/

Philippa Bond ● 1472d

Lots of building work in London - so an increased amount of hard non-porous surfaces causing run off into street sewers.  Fewer green spaces with real green things growing including trees.  In London rain and foul sewage mostly runs together in all our older streets.  Occasionally you now see specially created streams and ponds which spread the water out more - sustainable urban drainage schemes - in parks.  Straightening streams and rivers also causes problems when there are suddenly very heavy downpours - see the front page article.

Philippa Bond ● 1472d

Just not enough investment over decades it would seem."River Thames has become an ‘open sewer’ as treatment plants overwhelmed, report findsMore than half of sewage works in the upper Thames don't have sufficient capacity, leading to raw sewage leaks"https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/21/river-thames-has-become-open-sewer-treatment-plants-overwhelmed/

Ed Robinson ● 1473d

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59052995.amp

Philippa Bond ● 1473d

I am sure it is!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1473d

You can google Mogden Sewage Works Isleworth, it is a very large place.

Barbara Stevens ● 1473d

I am aware about pollution of rivers and farmers.  Many spills are accidental but not really acceptable.Allowing water companies to discharge raw sewage in rivers and seas is not only premeditated, but most certainly criminal!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1473d

There is something here on farmers and the pollution of rivers with fertilisers and slurry:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/farmers-get-subsidies-to-stop-pollution-under-new-post-brexit-scheme-mq8sb8bmqhttps://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/news/nature-farming/live-investigation-look-river-pollution-crisisI think the House of Lords didn't agree with allowing water companies discharging untreated sewage into rivers but when the Bill was sent back to the HoC they were overruled.

Philippa Bond ● 1473d

Yes, Philippa, the date of the article is 23 June 2021 and it clearly indicates that the government's grant to the Environmental Agency was £120 million in 2010 to help it survey water companies but was cut to £40 million last year.Particularly as the vote in the HoC approved the discharge of raw  sewage into rivers and the sea by water companies. Great track record of this government, do you not think? By the way, the article does not mention farmers.

Ivonne Holliday ● 1473d

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/environment-agency-needs-120m-grant-restored-to-protect-rivers-says-ceoDo read it is not just water companies...  I understand that the EU subsidies given to farmers did not ensure that they did not pollute rivers...The Environment Agency also deals with the licensing of waste contractors who everyone should be using to collect any bulky waste as if their waste is flytipped and traced back to them they can be fined thousands of pounds and there are problems there which need to be tackled.

Philippa Bond ● 1473d

One of the reasons I voted remain was due to the lack of UK safeguards concerning the environment.I didn't think the EU was brilliant it's just that I thought the UK governments were all extremely bad when it came to the environmental.In or out of the EU the UK should have a good environmental record, it is shameful that it doesn't.Taking the water as an example - a decade under Labour and two decades under the conservatives have not resolved the issues since privatisation.

Ed Robinson ● 1474d

I remember Rees-Mogg saying that we could lower our standards after Brexit.This is just like the way that the UK Govt lobbied the EU to reduce the Air Pollution numbers so that the UK's air pollution didn't seem so bad.  They lost three High Court cases:https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/news/uk-government-loses-third-air-pollution-case-as-judge-rules-air-pollution-plans-unlawful/So I am not surprised you've have found that about water pollution.

Philippa Bond ● 1474d

Let us see what changes they mean?  But allowing water companies to discharge sewage in rivers and seas is most definitely NOT acceptable.  It is wrong.Ahhhh, of course!!!  The banning of discharging sewage into rivers and seas came from the EU!!  Silly me!!  That was a directive from 1991.  Please look at the articles below. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/09/river-thames-pollution-european-unionhttps://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/sewage-beaches-eu-court-uk-spills-waste-water-london-sunderland-river-thames-whitburn-a8757286.html

Ivonne Holliday ● 1474d

See Mark Phillips' post below.  There is a supertunnel being built for a very good reason!

Philippa Bond ● 1474d

And this:https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4313638/Vultures-left-Thames-Water-10bn-debt.htmlThere has been a lot of asset stripping of businesses sold off despite whatever conditions have been put in place.  Sometimes it just seems to have been "gentleman's agreements". Where are the "gentlemen"?

Philippa Bond ● 1474d

http://www.putneysw15.com/default.asp?section=community&link=http://neighbournet.com/server/common/ldrsthames004.htm  With more extreme weather being linked to climate change and the heaviest rainfall ever being recorded we need to expect to make and accept changes. 

Philippa Bond ● 1475d

"The public had to foot the bill again and again which was not the intention of privatisation!"Or was it?https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/01/england-privatised-water-firms-dividends-shareholders

David Ainsworth ● 1475d

Yet neither party will renationalise monopolies that have a poor record of service, poor regulation and high bills.Was the privatisation a success?The public had to foot the bill again and again which was not the intention of privatisation!

Ed Robinson ● 1475d

Yes, and this government voted not long ago to authorize the water companies to discharge sewage into the rivers and seas.A lot of the pollution may be caused by farming but now it is free for all water companies to discharge as much sewage as they wish.  Appalling!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1475d

We need to be taking other initiatives to reduce the amount of rainwater that flows straight into the sewers with the sewage as happens in our older buildings.  We should be looking at Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDs).  Impermeable paving of gardens to create parking and patios exacerbates this.An underfunded Environment Agency is unable to investigate all the spills and pollution.  A lot of pollution is caused by farming and all of our rivers are polluted. https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/regulatory-and-enforcement/406-regulatory-news/45790-environment-agency-warns-it-does-not-have-resources-to-carry-out-enforcement-work-effectively-report

Philippa Bond ● 1475d

I doubt the Becton sewage treatment plant will be any more able to cope with the outflows when the Tideway tunnel is connected in 2025.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 1475d

I work in Isleworth now and have done for 26 years, Mogden sewage is just up the road and the smell in the summer is horrendous!!!I feel sorry for the residents of Isleworth!!

Karen Taylor ● 1475d