Proceedings

Background…

In 2022, ‘The vast majority of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated, polluting aquifers…’ –from UN.org https://bit.ly/3NP9zxP

Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to improve water quality by eliminating the ‘dumping’ of untreated wastewater (i.e., CSOs) by 2030.

In Wales (2021):

• No idea of the volume of sewage spilled
• 92,334 spills from CSOs, comprising 773,462 hrs
• 2,142 CSOs with over 400 unmonitored
• An unrecognised number of CSOs that are not permitted are known to exist but it is unknown how many there are and the degree to which they are discharging.

In England (2021):

• No idea of the volume of sewage spilled.
• 11% of CSO are not monitored (n=1570)
• 13% of CSOs did not spill in 2021 (n=1856) • Spills per CSO/water company = 20 (29) 42 (min(avg)max)
• Average duration of spill = 5 (7) 11 hrs (min(avg)max)
• 100 spills – 5% of CSOs