Cocaine fish: 450 years worth of sewage discharged into UK waters | LBC analysis

Professor Alex Ford has been examining the impact sewage is having on marine life. Following record sewage discharges, he found drugs in every single specimen. He talks through his research with Tom Swarbrick.

Sewage spills into England's rivers and seas doubled in 2023, marking the worst year on record.

Some 3.61 million hours of monitored sewage spills were reported in England in 2023, more than double the 1.75 million hours in 2022 and also well above the 3.10 million hours recorded in 2020.

Storm overflow spills are generally caused by heavy rainfall, the Environment Agency said, as more water run-off can put pressure on the sewer network.

The rise in sewage spills was in part driven by the heavy rain recorded in 2023, which was the sixth-wettest year on record. 2022. 2020 is the most comparable year to 2023 in terms of rainfall.

The Environment Agency said that the figures were disappointing, but not surprising. Comparisons over the years are difficult as an increasing number of storm overflows have been fitted with monitors over time, and all now have the technology to record spills.

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