Water companies should ‘come clean’ on sewage

Helen Morgan MP has called for water companies to “come clean” over the amount of sewage being dumped in the county’s rivers and streams.

Helen said latest figures that reveal only the duration of sewage spills amounted to a “cover-up”.

Data from Severn Trent revealed that raw sewage was dumped into North Shropshire rivers last year almost 500 times and for more than 1,871 hours, sometimes for days on end.

The Tributary of Sidleymoor Brook in Prees, the River Morda, Tetchill Brook, the River Vyrnwy and the River Roden were the worst affected, with excrement pouring in over hundreds of hours.

But Helen warned that the figures only showed the total number of spills and for how long, and failed to accurately detail the scale of the environmental damage being caused.

Under current regulations, water firms are only required to monitor the number and duration of sewage spills, but not the amount of sewage discharged.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “These shocking statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. With the Government still failing to require water companies to measure the volume of spills, the water of truth is being purposefully muddied.

“You wouldn’t go into a pub and ask for ‘three-and-a-half seconds of beer’, so why are we measuring sewage spills in this way?

“North Shropshire has some beautiful countryside, and with it picturesque rivers and streams, but people deserve to know the true extent of the unseen damage being done and the water companies need to come clean.

“It’s a national scandal. The Government must end this cover-up, and force Severn Trent and others to record the actual amount of disgusting sewage spilling into our local waterways.”

Compared to the previous year, the Environment Agency data shows that recorded Severn Trent sewage spills across North Shropshire decreased from 734 spills and a duration of almost 7,000 hours.

But Severn Trent had the highest number of sewage dumping incidents in 2025 when compared to other water companies, with figures showing that sewage flowed from the company’s pipes and pumping stations more than 36,000 times and for more than 200,361 hours across its network.

Notes to Editors

Worst waterways for sewage dumping in North Shropshire 2025

1. Tributary of Sidleymoor Brook at Prees - 325hrs (14 days) across 151 spills
2. River Morda at Oswestry - 301hrs (13 days) across 40
3. Tetchill Brook at Ellesmere - 227hrs (nine days) across 38 spills
4. River Vyrnwy at Pant Plas - 150hrs (six days) across 18 spills
5. River Roden at Wem - 150hrs (six days) across 13 spills

All of North Shropshire 2025: 1,871 hours (78 days)

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

Data here (taken from the Environment Agency publication of 2025 statistics, available in full here)