Renationalising water could fix sewage crisis – but no major party will do it

By Kevin Grecksch, Departmental Lecturer and Course Director MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management, University of Oxford

Privatised water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers and the sea around England and Wales for 3.6 million hours in 2023 – double the previous year’s total. For a sense of how bad the problem is today, check this map of the south-east of the UK which shows how much sewage water companies are dumping right now and for how long.

As a water researcher, I am happy to see water quality high on the political agenda but aggrieved that it is because…

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