Musician turned environmental activist Feargal Sharkey has attacked local councils including Ealing, house builders and Thames Water over their lack of action to stop new housing developments flushing sewage into London rivers.
Mr Sharkey recently visited the River Brent in Perivale and saw sewage pipes emptying into the river. Tests of the water revealed that the River Brent has one of the highest levels of E Coli he has ever seen. His findings were broadcast on a weekly radio slot he does for LBC.
A Environmental Information Request (EIR) to Thames Water also revealed last month that two housing developments in Ealing have been flushing sewage directly into tributaries of the River Thames through the River Brent.
As well as Ealing, five other housing developments – three in Barnet and two in Harrow have also been named in the EIR which was raised by Friends of the River Crane Environment (FORCE). The response from Thames Water only names the boroughs but not the location of the homes.
Mr Sharkey said: “Nobody seems to be doing their job, from the building inspectors to the water companies, to the local councils. Everyone sits back, passes the buck, passes the blame and, while this indecision is going on, the rivers in the very heart of our capital city are being poisoned by incompetence. Those that are doing it, stop it. Those that are there to safeguard this environment – the councils, the Environment Agency, OFWAT – go and do your job.”
Ben Morris, Brent River Park charity trustee and founder of Clean Up the River Brent (CURB), commented: “The whole situation is beautifully constructed for buck passing. The councils, the Environment Agency and Thames Water all have the legal powers to take action against the developers but none of these authorities is legally obliged to do so. Therefore, for the most part, they don’t.”
Mr Morris added: “What is needed is one organisation to be given the statutory duty and the enforcement powers to stop this sort of thing happening in the first place. Until this is done, it will continue to be possible to build and sell properties that flush sewage straight into our rivers, killing wildlife and turning healthy rivers into disgusting drains.”
In a statement, Brent River & Canal Society said: “The Brent River Park Charity and the Friends of the River Crane are calling on Barnet, Harrow and Ealing Councils, the Environment Agency, Thames Water, the Greater London Authority and the developers to work together to resolve the problems at these and other similar developments. In the longer term, this requires tougher legislation to ensure that all water connections are properly inspected and that those developers who connect foul water pipes to rivers are called to account.”
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, a Thames Water spokesperson previously said: “Households and buildings which are connected to the wrong drainage pipe can have a serious impact on the environment. Most misconnections will have been done entirely by accident but is the responsibility of the property owner, which is why we would urge freeholders or developers fitting new connections to make sure they’re plumbed in properly.
“We have identified seven buildings in the Brent and Crane area which are misconnected, and have made those responsible aware to ensure all wastewater is taken to our sewage works where it can be safely treated. We have a programme of work to help identify and investigate misconnections and we also fund local projects across our region, which have been a great way to increase awareness of the issue, while involving communities to take stewardship and help manage their local environments.”
