Huge increase in sewage dumping by Southern Water

New figures released by the Environment Agency reveal that Southern Water discharged raw sewage for a staggering 317,285 hours last year. Far from getting better, this is 83% worse than in 2022. It’s the equivalent of releasing sewage for more than 36 years on end.

Horsham Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher action, starting with replacing Ofwat with a stronger regulator. The party has also called for a ban on bonuses for the water company bosses whose firms continue to pollute our rivers and beaches.

Our local MPs, Jeremy Quin and Andrew Griffith, have always followed the Conservative party line and voted against measures which would have helped tackle the crisis.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Horsham, Cllr John Milne said:

“It’s a complete scandal that filthy sewage continues to be pumped into Horsham District’s rivers and waterways. 

“Incredibly, every time this comes up in Parliament Conservative MPs including Jeremy Quin and Andrew Griffith continue to allow Southern Water to get away with this environmental vandalism. Local people are furious that Conservative politicians keep blocking tougher action on these disgraced firms.

"We need to replace OfWat with a regulator that has real teeth to clamp down on these polluting firms. We also propose a ban on bonuses for water company bosses, who should not be rewarded for decades of failure."