Water company in financial trouble discharges untreated sewage 10 times the allowable limit for E. coli… “Vomiting before the game”
The Thames River, the ‘lifeline of England’ that runs through south-central England, including the capital London, is covered in excrement and is causing disgrace. Participants in the ‘Oxbridge (Oxford vs. Cambridge)’ rowing competition, which boasts a 195-year tradition, were banned from entering the rowing competition, telling them to “be careful of splashing water.”
On the 29th of last month, environmental group River Action announced, “When we collected samples from the competition area and tested the water quality, the amount of E. coli detected reached an average of 2,863 CFU (bacterial count unit) and a maximum of 9,801 CFU, which is close to 10 times the allowable limit.”
According to the BBC, the Thames River is filled with excrement and the smell is so unbearable. Oxford University’s Leonard Jenkins, who lost in the rowing competition held that day, complained at a press conference, “I vomited before the race,” and “I think it would have been better if I had just written a little ‘poo’ in the river.” Oxbridge’s tradition is for the winning team to celebrate by jumping into the river, but this year, jumping into the river was prohibited. A warning order was also issued to be careful not to come into contact with splashing water while rowing during the game.
The Thames River sewage crisis occurred when water companies discharged large amounts of sewage that had not been properly treated for a long period of time. According to the UK Environment Agency, untreated sewage was discharged across the country for 3.7 million hours last year, the highest figure since monitoring began in 2015. Compared to 2022 (1.75 million hours), it is more than double.
In the UK, rainwater and sewage flow through the same pipe, so it is designed to drain some of the sewage to prevent backflow during floods. Environmental groups criticized, “Sewage leaks should be allowed only in very unusual cases, but they are being released indiscriminately.” The British government also called for quick action, calling it “unacceptable.”
However, solving the fundamental problem is not expected to be easy. Since being privatized in 1989 under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, British water companies have been criticized for focusing only on increasing profits for shareholder dividends rather than investing in facilities or improving services. Thames Water, the number one company, is also owned by private equity funds and overseas pension institutions, and its debt last year amounted to 14 billion pounds (about 24 trillion won). In this situation, Thames Water has recently come under increasing criticism from public opinion by proposing a plan to increase water rates by up to 40% as a self-rescue measure.
Reporter Hong Jeong-su [email protected]
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2024-03-31 18:00:00
