Around one million tons of raw sewage were released from one pumping station into the North Sea last year by a firm which boasts of its excellent environmental record.
Northumbrian Water gave the estimated release of sewage from its Whitburn site after a Freedom of Information request. A tribunal ruled the company needed to provide local Steve Lavelle with data.
The water firm said it had “some of the lowest amounts and durations of spills in the country”.
Its calculations suggest 1.007 million tonnes of sewage was discharged into the North Sea at Whitburn in 2023.
Arch in Whitburn near South Shields and Sunderland (Getty Images)The Whitburn coast is part of the Durham special area of conservation. Prof Darren Grocke, a biogeochemist at Durham University, warned an “environmental and ecological assessment is urgently needed” if the figures were confirmed.
Couple use bucket for loo over Xmas and New Year after raw sewage floods drains
Most of the UK has a combined sewerage system with rainwater and wastewater in the same pipes.
Capacity can sometimes be exceeded during periods of heavy rain. Northumbrian Water said the 2023 figure was as a result of the UK’s eleventh wettest year on record, with rainfall for the North East around 35% higher than 2022.
It added: “We have the best environmental record of any water company in England, with no serious pollution incidents throughout the whole of 2023, or any since 2021.
“Over the past two decades we have made huge investments to improve bathing waters.
“The result of our programme means 32 of our 34 bathing waters in the North East are rated as Excellent or Good in the latest Defra classifications. The beaches at Whitburn and Roker have achieved Excellent status every year since the guidelines were introduced.”
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