A recent report from Sky News showed that water companies have pumped raw sewage into Britain's seas and rivers for more than nine million hours since 2016 – a five-year increase of 2,553%.
Severn Trent and Yorkshire Water, both of which supply water to Derbyshire, are amongst the worst offenders. In 2021, The Rivers Trust reported that Severn Trent spilled sewage for 461,119 hours across its network, with Yorkshire Water managing 866,417 hours of sewage discharge.
The below locations are amongst those where the most sewage was dumped in Derbyshire, according to the latest annual data from The Rivers Trust.
All photos are illustrative, and do not show the exact location of each sewer storm overflow.
1. River Rother
A Yorkshire Water sewer storm overflow at Old Whittington spilled 81 times for a total of 1050 hours, discharging into the River Rother. Photo: Photo © Christine Johnstone (cc-by-sa/2.0)
2. River Drone
A storm overflow at Unstone spilled 63 times for a total of 497 hours, discharging into the River Drone. Photo: Google
3. River Hipper
A sewer storm overflow at Walton Dam spilled 112 times for a total of 418 hours, discharging into the River Hipper. Photo: Photo © Bill Boaden (cc-by-sa/2.0)
4. River Amber
A Severn Trent storm overflow at Ashover spilled 125 times for a total of 1073 hours, discharging into the River Amber. Photo: Photo © Andrew Hill (cc-by-sa/2.0)