Check out Sewage Map to see just how polluted your local river is.
Sewage Map
This map shows, in real-time, which river sections are downstream of sewage discharges from storm overflows.About the Data
The data is collected through Event Duration Monitoring by individual water companies, providing near-real time data on storm overflows. Such overflows release untreated, diluted sewage into the environment. Currently, only Thames Water provide an API to historical sewage spill data. We wrote an article about why water companies need to be more transparent with environmental models and data in The Conversation.Hydrology Model
To identify river stretches downstream of an overflow, we combine the real-time EDM data with a basic hydrological model. Using the Center for Ecology and Hydrology’s Integrated Hydrological Digital Terrain Model, we track sewage discharges downstream along non-tidal river networks. We highlight areas downstream of active and recent discharges in brown. This simple approach does not consider dilution, river flow, or dispersion effects on pollutant concentration. Since water companies do not provide real-time data on discharge volume or pollutant concentrations, accurately modelling these effects is very difficult. Consequently, on its own, this map should not be used to assess pollution or health risks at a specific location, for example, for bathing water quality. Note that, the simple hydrological model may produce 'unexpected' results in some areas, for instance in lakes or where rivers are tidal very far in-land.Waste Water
According to the Environment Agency’s data for 2023, sewage overflows released untreated sewage for total duration of 3.6 million hours. Untreated sewage overflows are responsible for releasing various pollutants, including microplastics, illegal drugs, and human effluent, into the environment.
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