Concern as sewage pumped into river for six weeks

Residents have spoken of their concerns after a sewage treatment plant discharged untreated waste into a brook for more than six weeks.

Between 15 January to 3 March, Ampney St Peter released sewage into the Ampney Brook, which flows into the River Thames near Cirencester.

Limited amounts of sewage are allowed to be discharged during periods of excess rain, but campaigners fear the current levels pose a threat to wildlife and swimmers' health. Resident Julie Job added the current system "simply cannot cope".

A Thames Water spokesperson said the system was "historically designed this way to prevent sewage backing up into people's homes".

According to Sewage Map, discharge was released from the Amney St Peter Sewage Treatment Plant for 1,122 hours and 45 minutes between 15 January and 3 March 2026.

Over all this year, the plant has already discharged sewage for 2,695 hours and 30 minutes, raising serious concerns among residents and councillors.

Thames Water confirmed that "as a result of heavy rainfall, some permitted storm overflows have operated across our network".

Water companies are currently fined for pollution offences.

But, Job said there "is no point in fining them as that money is taken away from supporting and improving the infrastructure".

A spokesperson for Thames Water added: "Transparency is at the heart of what we do, and we were the first water company to publish a real‑time data map on our website, before it became a legal requirement."

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