Full scale of sewage discharge in West Berkshire and North Hampshire revealed by Thames Water map

The scale of sewage discharge into local watercourses has been revealed.

But Thames Water has said it is working hard to tackle the problem, after it was revealed in a new online map.

There are currently eight storm drains discharging into waterways in West Berkshire and North Hampshire – meaning sewage could be escaping into the water at a number of locations.

Five of these have been discharging for more than 300 hours and a further four were discharging but have stopped within the last 48 hours, the data shows.

Two others have discharged during January, while another five were discharging during December.

One monitor is currently offline.

The information can be found in a new online map, launched by Thames Water this month.

The storm overflows are used to prevent flooding in homes and gardens during times of heavy or prolonged rain, when the sewer systems cannot cope with the volume of water.

Thames Water said they act as “a safety valve, diverting some of the rainwater and foul water into watercourses”.

The water company added that “although it does contain some untreated sewage, storm discharge is heavily diluted because it's mostly rainwater”.

A Thames Water spokesperson said it had launched the real-time map after a successful trial in Oxford.

“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us, but we also need to explain what is happening, and why,” she added. “This is a key part of our River Health Action Plan to radically improve both performance and transparency in order to protect and improve the environment.

“We are absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing our rivers and the communities who love them, and we want to make these discharges of diluted sewage unnecessary as quickly as possible.”

Discharges have been taking place for more than 540 hours in Burghfield, in to the Clay Hill Brook, and in Mortimer, into the Foundry Brook.

In Chapel Row, a storm drain has been discharging into a tributary of the River Bourne for more than 345 hours, while in Washwater and Silchester they have been discharging for more than 355 hours.

Adrian Abbs (Newbury Wash Common), the Liberal Democrat shadow portfolio holder for environment on West Berkshire Council, said the water companies needed to be held to account.

“How much longer before they have permanently damaged our chalk streams?” he said. “What is being said sounds okay but isn’t what is being delivered and we’re losing faith rapidly.”

The Thames Water spokesperson added: “Of course, what matters most is stopping the need for the discharges.

“Our shareholders have recently approved a business plan that sees us spending an additional £2bn beyond what our customers are funding so we can improve outcomes for customers, leakage and river health.

“This will allow us to deliver our commitment to a 50 per cent reduction in the total annual duration of discharges across London and the Thames Valley by 2030, and within that an 80 per cent reduction in sensitive catchments.

“We have a long way to go – and we certainly can’t do it on our own – but the ambition is clear.”

Thames Water said the event duration monitoring sensors only offer an indication of what is happening and aren’t always accurate.

Earlier this week Newburytoday reported on the concerns over the health risk posed in Tadley after human faeces and toilet paper were seen on a footpath following heavy rainfall.