Thames Water identified 2,294 misconnections across London over the past five years, with more than 2,000 properties discharging raw sewage directly into rivers. Misconnections link foul waste pipes to the surface-water network and arise from incorrect plumbing rather than from water companies. Building inspectors often fail to detect these faults, and volunteers commonly discover them by witnessing polluted water entering waterways. Clean Up River Brent warns that sewage destroys the building blocks of aquatic life and renders watercourses unpleasant for wildlife and people. Defra estimated 150,000–500,000 UK households may have some misconnection. Property owners are responsible for correcting faults, but cost and convenience frequently prevent fixes.
More than 2,000 properties across London are illegally pumping raw sewage directly into rivers due to drainage misconnections, an Environmental Information Request (EIR) has revealed. Over the past five years, Thames Water identified 2,294 misconnections in properties throughout London, according to the EIR submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The misconnections, connecting foul waste pipes to the surface water network, are not caused by water companies but by incorrect plumbing work and are often not detected by inspectors.
By putting sewage, including both toilet waste and that from showers and washing machines, into rivers we are destroying the building blocks of aquatic life. "Who wants to live next to, or visit, a stinking watercourse which gives no life or joy to wildlife or to humans?" "These mistakes are often not detected by building inspectors. They are usually only detected as a result of volunteer action [through] witnessing polluted water going into a river.
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