In her fortnightly column, Blackburn MP Kate Hollern 

Despite its industrial past, there is much natural beauty to be found around Blackburn, from Corporation Park to Queens Park, through to Billinge Hill and Witton Country Park.

For a large town, there are still many open spaces that are easy to access for local residents. As such I was shocked to learn that the River Darwen was second on the list of English rivers with the most sewage spills per mile in their catchment areas last year.

The River Darwen and its tributary, the River Blakewater, have a long history of subjection to pollution due to their passing through a large industrial town, and in years gone by local factories used to discharge their effluent into these rivers.

Much progress was made however during the last Labour Government, when the condition of the water improved, leading to a return of wildlife. The state of the river today is appalling.

Our coastlines, areas of outstanding natural beauty, and waterways are being sullied. Widespread illegal sewage dumping is an environmental, health and economic hazard which is directly impacting every community across the UK, destroying our countryside, and impacting on tourism. This country, and the quality of life for millions, is being treated with contempt.

Last year was the worst for sewage spills since records began. Sewage was discharged for an eye-watering record 3.6 million hours across England in 2023, according to Environment Agency data.

The number of sewage discharges has skyrocketed by 54%, from over 464,092 sewage spills in 2023, compared to 301,291 in 2022. The latest figures show that the number of bathing waters in England receiving a classification of “poor” were at their highest since 2015.

The profit that water companies continue to rake in whilst this crisis ensues is obscene. The water industry and its regulatory framework are broken. It should not be the case that, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis, consumers are expected to pay the price of pollution whilst water companies and their bosses pocket huge profits and bonuses. The polluter should be paying the price, not the public.

I am proud of Labour’s plans to tackle the sewage problem in England, with the introduction of stricter rules and regulations to ensure robust and urgent action is undertaken immediately.

By giving the water regulator, Ofwat, the power to ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses until they have cleared up sewage dumping, we would be able to ensure that water bosses face personal criminal liability for extreme and persistent lawbreaking.

In fact, under Labour’s new plans on sewage pollution, Ofwat could have blocked six out of nine water bosses’ bonuses last year because of severe levels of illegal pollution. Likewise, I support plans to introduce severe and automatic fines for illegal discharges and force all companies to monitor every single water outlet.

Whilst Labour is pledging to put failing water companies under special measures to force them to clean up their toxic mess and protect people’s health, the Tories are turning a blind eye to illegal sewage dumping, putting millions of people at risk.

Appallingly, the sewage scandal is now impacting our NHS. The number of people admitted to hospital for water-borne diseases has skyrocketed by two-thirds. Cases of water borne diseases – including dysentery and Weil’s disease – have increased by nearly 60% since 2010. Our health service is already on its knees. This cannot be allowed to continue.

We cannot continue to let our natural environment continue to be treated in these despicable ways, whilst the public and NHS pay the price.