Europe may sue UK over raw sewage releases

[Tugmistress]

Taken from here (http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=11295&channel=0)

Europe may sue UK over raw sewage releases (7 April 2006)

For at least three years, the UK has been in breach of EU law that forbids the discharge of raw sewage into the sea and rivers, prompting the Commission's decision to pursue legal action this week.

London and three other British urban areas regularly release untreated sewage directly into rivers and seas when their water treatment facilities overflow.

The Commission blames this on inadequate treatment and collection facilities, which release millions of cubic meters of untreated wastewater into the environment whenever demand exceeds capacity - which happens more than 80 times each year in some cases.

It had issued a final official warning before court action is taken against the UK, which it says is in breach of the EU's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, and has now threatened to challenge the UK in the European Court of Justice.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "To ensure that the health of citizens and the environment in the United Kingdom is protected, it is key that adequate collection and treatment facilities for sewage are put in place."

The Government received warnings over inadequate collecting and treatment facilities for London's urban wastewater in May 2005, and for Torbay and Whitburn in England and Kilbarchan in Scotland in April 2003. The It responded with information on planned actions, but failed to do enough to remedy the situation, the Commission has judged.

The results of inadequate water treatment facilities are dire for water quality, the survival of fish and ecosystems, but also pose risk to human health as bacteria and viruses are introduced into bodies of water.

[sjwahwah]

yep. It is pretty stupid the way we deal with wastewater and sewage. Sewage should not go down the same hole with wastewater. Wastewater from sinks & baths; when used with out chemicals and instead with eco-friendly soaps and cleaners is perfectly good water and in fact vitamin rich that can either be reused for the toilet or used in greywater beds to grow plants.

Letting your sewage leach into the waterways is about as primitive as the caveman pooin in the back of the cave. We should get sued over it.. if we can't take care of one of our most basic needs without pollutin' the waterways we aren't much more intelligent than the common dog.

Another perfect example of this is the fact that you see some reporter down south reporting outside in the rain about a water shortage coming through the taps. Duh!

I would prefer to compost my sewage and use it on my crops & contain my own wastewater - eliminating any waste output at all. (Fecophobes - altogether now, "eeewwwww")

[Gleber2]

yep. It is pretty stupid the way we deal with wastewater and sewage. Sewage should not go down the same hole with wastewater. Wastewater from sinks & baths; when used with out chemicals and instead with eco-friendly soaps and cleaners is perfectly good water and in fact vitamin rich that can either be reused for the toilet or used in greywater beds to grow plants.

Letting your sewage leach into the waterways is about as primitive as the caveman pooin in the back of the cave. We should get sued over it.. if we can't take care of one of our most basic needs without pollutin' the waterways we aren't much more intelligent than the common dog.

Another perfect example of this is the fact that you see some reporter down south reporting outside in the rain about a water shortage coming through the taps. Duh!

I would prefer to compost my sewage and use it on my crops & contain my own wastewater - eliminating any waste output at all. (Fecophobes - altogether now, "eeewwwww")

Fur a mere wumin yur certainly more clever than the Grumpy owld man. But yur a heeder too. Pleasure to be communicating with some-one with a head that thinks.[evil] :Razz

[AR]

tell europe to go...............whistle! at very least.Have you seen the state of some of frances and spains sewrage systems?

[mareng]

I've never understood why the European commission was so scathing of our drinking water supply in the UK when it was one of the few European countries that you could actually drink the tapwater?

[_Ju_]

tell europe to go...............whistle! at very least.Have you seen the state of some of frances and spains sewrage systems?


I take it you have seen them?

I don't know about Spain or France, but neither of them are sueing the UK for sewage leakage, are they? (Unless Spain +France=Europefor you)

And I take it that since you are "in the know" that France and Spain are not being prosecuted for the state of their sewage and water treating systems?


Either way, two wrongs do not make a right. The oceans cannot deal with our waste and it has to be treated. All European countries are required to have residual water treatment plants to treat raw sewage. If they are not complying, being whatever country they are, they should be made to comply.

The agreement on water treatment is not unilaterally made and imposed, contrary to what many people think and believe (Infact in the area I work in the UK has some very important exceptions to the rule that the rest of europe is obliged to comply to with economical consequences for them and advantages for the UK). Every country has their own politicians laying out european law and regulations. You might not agree with the politicians but as a country you voted and put them there.