Wessex Water responds to river Frome criticism

WESSEX Water has responded to campaigners who blame the company for pollution in the River Frome. Last month Frome supporters of Extinction Rebellion held a demonstration and ‘river blessing’ to highlight storm overflows, which can discharge untreated but diluted sewage into waterways following heavy rainfall. 

Although overflows are licensed by the Environment Agency to protect properties from flooding, Wessex Water said it agrees they aren’t fit for the 21st century – and added that it is already investing more than £3 million every month on schemes to improve them and reduce how often they operate.

The company says this includes addressing overflows in the Frome catchment where discharges fell significantly in 2022 and added that at Westway, pipes have been upsized and new flow controls installed to achieve this.

However, the water and sewerage company explained that there is no quick fix to an issue which, they say, only partly contributes to river water quality.

Matt Wheeldon, Wessex Water’s director of infrastructure development, said, “We would love to stop all storm overflow discharges immediately but they are a legacy of how houses have been built for more than 150 years, with one pipe carrying both rainwater and sewage.

“Regulated storm overflows account for less than 1% of the reasons why rivers in our region don’t achieve good ecological status because what’s discharged is heavily diluted by rain or groundwater, but that doesn’t mean we like them.

“The solutions we’re rolling out include separating rainwater to stop it entering sewers as well as constructing large storage tanks to contain the combined rain and sewage for later treatment. Beyond this, we have further plans for nature-based solutions such as wetlands and reed beds.

“Subject to regulatory approval, our investment in overflows will triple to £9 million per month from 2025 as we step up to meet the challenge of preventing untreated sewage discharges.”

Wessex Water is a partner in the Resilient Frome project, which aims to improve flood resilience and safeguard river quality through sustainable solutions to land and water management.

Matt Wheeldon added, “River users will be aware that numerous factors can affect water quality, from wildlife and agricultural run-off to regulated overflows and treated sewage discharges.

“Lowland rivers will always have bacteria in them, even if they are ecologically good. But we understand and support the desire to make more use of them for swimming and recreation.”