A WATER company spilled raw sewage into the unique chalk streams in the Winchester area on nearly 430 occasions in 2020, data has revealed.

Southern Water discharged untreated sewage into Hampshire’s fragile chalk streams including the rivers Itchen, Meon, and the River Hamble, for nearly 6,994 hours.

The stark picture has been branded as “scandalous” by a former MP and Winchester city councillor Lord Chidgey who is at the forefront of the battle to save the sensitive bodies of water.

Data from the government, and compiled by the Rivers Trust, relates to 15 sewage storm overflows in 2020.

These overflows cover Winchester and parts of the Meon Valley, with the highest number of occurrences at the Heathen Lane wastewater pumping station in Durley with 162 untreated sewage discharges, resulting in 3,193.67 hours of spillage.

Among them was also the Harestock Water Treatment Works, with 56 spills over 2020 resulting in 1,111.05 hours.

Speaking about the figures, Lord Chidgey, who lives in Alresford, said that he was “not at all surprised”, adding: “This is nothing new, this has been their practice for some considerable time.”

As previously reported, last year Southern Water was fined a record £90 million for dumping raw sewage into watercourses that flow in the Solent.

The former Eastleigh MP has been campaigning to ensure greater protection for chalk streams and new environment laws to offer a lifeline to the county’s rivers.

Lord Chidgey said the pollution ‘is killing the rivers’, he continued: “In terms of ecology, the amount of oxygen in our streams is vital for all types of wildlife. In terms of nutrients, very expert people have been tearing their hair out for decades, the River Arle where I live nearby, is slowly and progressively dying. It is not barren but it is almost there, where are all the fish and wildlife that anyone in the countryside would expect to see, it is now missing.”

Common in south England, chalk streams are nearly unique to this country with only France having a sizeable number.

Lord Chidgey said in a recent debate in the House of Lords that many chalk streams “are in a sorry state through decades of pollution, over-abstraction and reckless discharging”.

Lord Chidgey and like-minded Peers have been pressing the Government over new laws aimed at curbing the over-abstraction of river water for commercial use and discharging polluted water back, and banning the practice allowing foul sewage to flow into water sources when sewers overflow.

He continued: “It is shocking that people cannot drink from our rivers without treatment but also cannot swim in them safely.”

Lord Chidgey said that sewage is a huge factor but others include run-off from farms, he added: “Farmers are waking up to it, they are not polluting the way that Southern Water and other water companies do.”

The data:

  • Heathen Lane, Durley, wastewater pumping station: 162 times, 3,193.67 hours
  • Wickham Water Treatment Works: 82 spills, 1,386 hours
  • Harestock Water Treatment Works: 56 spills, 1,111.05 hours
  • East Meon Water Treatment Works: 40 spills, 525.73 hours
  • Durley Lane, Durley wastewater pumping station: 39 spills, 402.56 hours
  • Fareham Road, Winchester, wastewater pumping station: 30 spills, 330.54 hours
  • New Alresford Water Treatment Works: five spills, 8.76 hours
  • Morestead Road Water Treatment Works: four spills, 19.42 hours
  • Bishop’s Waltham Water Treatment Works: one spill, 5.7 hours
  • Shirrell Heath wastewater pumping station: two spills, 3.17 hours
  • Spring Gardens, Alresford, wastewater pumping station: four spills, 2.2 hours
  • Botley Road, Shedfield, wastewater pumping station: one spill, 2.38 hours
  • Garnier Road wastewater pumping station: one spill, 0.85 minutes
  • Ashton Corner, Bishop’s Waltham wastewater pumping station: one spill, one hour
  • Little Bull Lane, Waltham Chase, wastewater pumping station: one spill, 0.91 minutes

A spokesman for Southern Water said: "The Rivers Trust is a key partner of Southern Water and we work together on many crucial environmental programmes and share common goals.

"The most common cause of releases is storm overflows when rainwater threatens to overwhelm the system and cause flooding to homes, schools and businesses. Under tightly regulated permits, we release this 95 per cent rainwater from overflows to prevent this. This is increasingly unacceptable to customers across the nation and we hear the message clearly.

"A major issue in Hampshire is high groundwater which forces its way into our sewers or private pipes. We have a major project in seven parishes south of Andover where this problem is especially acute. Monitoring and surveying allow us to determine when the risk is increasing and we use tankers initially to extract from strategic points in the sewer to take away excess for treatment in places with more capacity. If levels continue to rise then mobile wastewater treatment equipment is installed and used under monitoring by the Environment Agency meeting the key priorities of serving customers, preventing flooding and protecting the environment.”