French protest to EU: UK waste releases regarding sewage in the sea

• According to three Euro MPs, the UK is endangering the health and marine life along the French coast by allowing raw sewage to be thrown into the North Sea and the English Channel.
• After heavy rains forced sewage overflow to be redirected into rivers and the sea, pollution warnings have been issued for over 50 beaches in England and Wales.
• British water firms have stated that they are making investments to address the issue.

According to three Euro MPs, the UK is endangering the health and marine life along the French coast by allowing raw sewage to be thrown into the North Sea and the English Channel.

After heavy rains forced sewage overflow to be redirected into rivers and the sea, pollution warnings have been issued for over 50 beaches in England and Wales.

The French MEPs accuse the UK of disregarding its environmental obligations and endangering fisheries and marine life.

British water firms have stated that they are making investments to address the issue.

The MEPs stated in a letter requesting legal or political action from the European Commission that the United Kingdom has ignored its environmental commitments since it left the European Union.

A representative for the UK government referred to their claim as “just not true.”

The UK was still a signatory to pertinent United Nations conventions on protecting shared waterways, the MEPs contended, even though it was no longer subject to EU laws.

The three MEPs are all members of En Marche, a pro-EU group supported by French President Emmanuel Macron. The chairman of the fisheries committee of the European Parliament is one of them, Pierre Karleskind.

Why is raw sewage pumped into the sea?

He stated that the UK could not be permitted to disregard its obligations under the terms of Brexit and jeopardize the 20 years of advancement of water quality standards in Europe.

The MEPs warn that short-term sewage leaks could endanger fishing, oyster farming, and bathing waters around the French coast. They could also have a negative impact on marine biodiversity.

The North Sea and the Channel are not disposal areas, according to Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, a member from Normandy who serves on the fisheries committee of the EU parliament.

Wastewater from toilets is transported to sewage treatment facilities through the same pipes as rainwater in the majority of the United Kingdom thanks to a combined sewage system.

The system is intended to occasionally overflow and discharge untreated sewage into rivers and the sea to prevent homes and public areas from flooding after heavy rains.

The recent hot weather has made flooding more likely because the parched earth can’t absorb water as rapidly.

According to Water UK, which speaks for the UK water sector, water companies “believe there is an urgent need” for action and will spend more than £3 billion between 2020 and 2025 to address overflows as part of a larger national environmental initiative.

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