Severe sewage problems in the river Thames

Speech by Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP delivered to European Parliament on Wed 13th Oct 2004

Ludford (ALDE). - Mr President, the UK Environment Agency has revealed that in five months of this year 12 million cubic metres of raw sewage were discharged into the river Thames flowing through London. This situation can only worsen with an increase in the violent storms caused by global warming. These discharges have not only killed thousands of fish but also resulted in dangerous levels of E. coli and other harmful bacteria.

This is a European issue because such readings are far above EU bathing water limits and, incidentally, also a cross-border issue since Thames Water is German owned.

The British Government refuses to provide the GBP 1.5m needed to build an interceptor tunnel to stop these overflows. As my colleague on the London Assembly has said, these figures are an absolute disgrace. This situation is bad for the environment, prejudicial to human health and damaging to the image of the Thames.

I would ask colleagues on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to pursue this breach of EU law by the British Government and request that the Commission investigate it.