'Whole river suffering' after sewage discharges

Sewage was pumped into the River Mole over hundreds of hours in the space of five days.

Members of the River Mole River Watch in Surrey said nearly 800 cumulative hours of sewage was discharged into the river from 20-24 January amid heavy rain days before Storm Chandra, according to Thames Water figures.

Simon Collins, a trustee with the group, said: "When this happens the whole river suffers."

A spokesperson for Thames Water, responsible for sewage treatment in the area, said it was "delivering record levels of investment across our wastewater infrastructure".

Collins said large storms would usually dilute the levels of some substances in the water, but that in this case levels had risen due to the "enormous length of time" of some overflows into the river.

The river campaign group said levels of E-coli were recorded at Fetcham Splash at over 10,000 colony forming units per 100ml, more than 10 times the legally safe limit of 900 per 100ml.

Cumulative hours of sewage discharge are calculated by working out the total amount of time that multiple sewage overflows are active in any given period.

Overflows can occur when heavy rainfall overwhelms the sewer systems and sewage needs to be discharged to allow the system to cope.

Dorking and Horley MP Chris Coghlan said he had written to Thames Water calling the sewage discharges into the River Mole "unacceptable".

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: "We are committed to seeing waterways thrive, but we can't do it alone. Farming, industry, road runoff, wildlife, and increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health.

"We understand that all untreated discharges, even when permitted, are unacceptable, however it's important to remember the sewage system was historically designed this way to prevent sewage backing up into people's homes."

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