Raw sewage pours into landmark Devon river

Storm overflows gush into waterway for 40 per cent of year

Raw sewage was pumped into a Devon river for more than 3,500 hours in a single year, according to figures highlighted by a local MP.

That means there was sewage flowing into one of the county’s landmark waterways for 40 per cent of the entire year.

South Devon liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden said it proved that the UK water industry was ‘fundamentally broken’.

She was speaking during debate at Westminster on the Water (Special Measures) Act which promises a tougher stance on the country’s privatised water industry.

However, Ms Voaden said the legislation failed to deliver the fundamental change needed to fix the industry. She said the proposals pulled their punches and did not go far enough to stop sewage dumping.

In 2024, storm overflows at the Harbertonford Wastewater Treatment Works discharged into the Harbourne River for more than 3,500 hours, meaning thousands of gallons of raw sewage made its way into the River Dart.

The same storm overflow has now been activated since January 11 in response to heavy rain.

“Our water industry is fundamentally broken, yet the government’s Water White Paper ignores the work needed to repair it,” said Ms Voaden. “People in South Devon are fed up with our environment being ravaged by corporate greed.

“The situation is so dire that nothing less than root-and-branch reform will do. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for a new ownership model where water companies are mutually owned by customers and professionally managed.

“We are also calling on the Government to force water companies to record and publish the volume of sewage they dump – not just the duration of spills. We cannot bring an end to the sewage scandal without reliable data to hold water companies accountable.”

Ms Voaden also fired a broadside at the government’s water watchdog Ofwat, which she said was failing to protect the public interest.

She drew attention to the May 2024 cryptosporidium outbreak which left 17,000 properties in Kingswear and Brixham under a ‘boil your water’ notice for as long as two months.

She said local people were frustrated that the then-chief executive of South West Water’s parent company, Susan Davy, later picked up a share bonus of £191,000, bringing her total package for that year up to £803,000.

“Ofwat banned six water companies from paying executive bonuses, but I was shocked to see that South West Water was not one of them,” said the MP. “That is a clear illustration of why Ofwat must be replaced without delay.”