A damning report has been published into the condition of Hampshire waterways.

The Environment Agency report said that "all water bodies in Winchester City Council's area is defined as failing due to priority hazardous substances". 

It also classed the overall status of Hampshire's chalk streams, the River Itchen and Test, as being 'poor'. 

The report said: “All three groundwater bodies (River Test, River Itchen and East Hampshire) are in poor status for groundwater quality and this relates to diffuse pollution. Diffuse pollution arises from widespread activities with no single discrete source. The groundwater body quality failures are attributed to agricultural and land management activities.

READ MORE: Southern Water boss comes under fire at council meeting

“The main sources of potential point source pollution include treated wastewater, storm water from our sewerage systems, privately owned sewage treatment systems, road run-off, other discharges from trade premises, fish farms, watercress beds and accidental losses such as leaking heating oil tanks. Diffuse pollution comes from non-point source, widespread activities within the current and past rural and urban environments. It particularly affects the chalk groundwater which feeds our chalk streams.

“The water companies have rightly been condemned by government, us, campaigners and the public for allowing far too many sewage spills into rivers. We are holding water companies to account to reduce pollution, tackle storm overflows and invest more of their profits into the environment. We are prosecuting the most serious polluters. On July 9 2021 Southern Water was sentenced to pay a record £90m fine after pleading guilty in court to 6,971 unpermitted pollution discharges which polluted rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex.

SEE ALSO: Southern Water plans £800m water recycling project

“All water companies have strict conditions around the discharge of treated effluent specified through their permits. We do everything we can with the legal powers and resources we have, to set protective permits and act where there is failure to comply with measures designed to protect our inland and coastal waters. 

“We continue to work with government, the water industry, land owners, farmers and others to improve water quality in all our rivers.”

It was discussed by Winchester City Council's health and environment policy committee on Tuesday July 4. 

Cllr John Tippett-Cooper said: “Southern Water should keep reporting back to us to update us on what they are doing to improve this. The current way of managing our water is broken.”

Cllr Neil Bolton said: “I think it's an absolute scandal. It will take quite some time to rectify the problem given we have such antiquated Victorian systems. There are some simple things we can do, like using non-phosphate dishwasher tablets. The more we can do to help educate people, the better.”