Rivers At Risk

Water company sewage pollution is one of the main reasons for failing health of rivers due to illegal sewage dumping, a lack of enforcement and poor water company planning. Many sewage treatment works are old and undersized in National Parks. Often, the wastewater treatment works in the Parks are designed to much weaker standards than those in towns and cities to cater for a smaller population, meaning they can’t deal with the huge numbers of people, and their waste, who visit National Parks every year.

Water abstraction is the removal of water from a natural source for a variety of uses such as drinking water.

When too much water is removed from a river the flow rate slows leading to more silt building up and degrading vital habitats for species, pollutants become more concentrated and when combined with the affects of climate change water temperatures increase and become unsuitable for the wildlife in the water.

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As sewage treatment works are old and undersized, as they often are in rural areas of National Parks, they can’t deal with the increased demands due to tourism meaning untreated sewage is often dumped into the water.

The water is then not only contaminated with sewage but also antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antimicrobials, anti-inflammatory substances, lipid regulators and diabetes treatments. High levels of chemical pollution like these threaten fish, invertebrates and algae and can also threaten human health.