Helen calls for action as sewage dumped into North Shropshire rivers for 7,952 hours

MP Helen Morgan has called on the Government to clamp down on water companies as new data revealed sewage was dumped into North Shropshire rivers for 7,952 hours last year.

Sewage was pouring non-stop into the worst-affected waterways for a quarter of the whole of 2024, the figures show.

The River Roden in Wem and the Common Brook, a tributary of the River Perry near Oswestry, both had sewage spilling into them for more than 2,000 hours last year.

The total hours that excrement was pumped into North Shropshire streams and rivers increased by 33 per cent compared to 2023, with the River Morda in Oswestry, Tetchill Brook in Ellesmere and the River Vyrnwy in Llanymynech also badly hit.

Local MP Helen Morgan is calling on the Government to put a stop to the sewage scandal by replacing Ofwat with a regulator that has the power to properly hold water companies to account.

As well as revealing the impact on North Shropshire, the data from the Environment Agency shows that Severn Trent pumped 454,155 hours worth of sewage into waterways in 2024, while for Welsh Water the figure was 31,770.

The news comes after Helen joined Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey canoeing in the River Severn as the party continues to lead the campaign for cleaner waterways.

Helen wants to see much tougher action as executives of companies like Severn Trent continue to rake in huge bonuses despite the continuing pollution of local rivers.

Meanwhile an average of 3 billion litres of water is being wasted every day in England and Wales (between 2020/21-2022/23) due to leaky pipes, new research reveals.

The House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows that, on average, a total of 105 litres of water is leaked per property served by Severn Trent every day.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “The scale of sewage dumping both here in Shropshire and across the country is a national scandal.

“It’s disgraceful that the Conservatives allowed the situation to get so bad and the new Labour government is now failing to get a grip on the crisis.

“Ofwat must go, local rivers must be protected and the water companies profiting from pollution must be held to account.

“I will continue to stand up for residents in Shropshire who are paying sky-high water bills and deserve much much better.”

The figures

Worst waterways for sewage dumping in North Shropshire 2024:

• River Roden, Wem – 2,183 hours (91 days) across 191 separate spills
• Common Brook, Oswestry – 2,134 hours (89 days) across 123 spills
• River Morda, Oswestry – 1,212 hours (51 days) across 109 spills
• Tetchill Brook, Ellesmere – 489 hours (20 days) across 61 spills
• River Vyrnwy, Llanymynech – 272 hours (11 days) across 41 spills

All of North Shropshire 2024: 7,952 hours (331 days)

All of North Shropshire 2023: 5,994 hours (250 days)

NB these statistics only include sewage spills that took place within North Shropshire (it does not include spills on the same rivers outside of North Shropshire).