'We're destroying what should be the finest river on Earth': Feargal Sharkey tests the River Test with LBC

22 November 2024, 07:40

Pressure grows on one of Britain’s biggest water companies after an internationally renowned UK river fails a series of key environmental tests in the latest edition of Feargal on Friday.

This week, Feargal Sharkey, the former Undertones frontman and influential environmental campaigner, travelled to Hampshire to test the River Test - a historic chalk stream, flowing 40 miles from near Basingstoke towards Southampton Water.

A stretch of the River - between Longparish and Chilbolton - is a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is famous for its trout and salmon fishing.

Years of uncontrolled sewage spills has however led to significant protest from environmental groups who say the River’s status as a "vibrant habitat" is now under threat.

LBC’s testing has now provided further evidence to substantiate these concerns.

Read more: UK's biggest water company fails three environmental tests carried out by Feargal Sharkey and LBC

Read more: LBC and Feargal Sharkey uncover pollution three times above 'excessive' levels in Britain's rivers

Feargal Sharkey tests the River Test with LBC

The nitrate test - one of the key indicators of pollution in a river - generated the highest reading of any test conducted since the start of Feargal on Friday.

It came in at 35 parts per million, 7 times the threshold of what is deemed ‘excessive’ by the Water Quality Monitoring Network.

Meanwhile, the Test’s phosphate levels were five times over the upper limit defined by the Water Framework Directive - coming in at 1.46 parts per million

High levels of phosphates in rivers cause blue-green algae which can be toxic for humans and lethal for animals.

It can also reduce the available oxygen in the ecosystem, ultimately resulting in fish deaths.

Testing carried out by Simplex Health on behalf of LBC showed the presence of E Coli in the River Test was over 3 times the level at which the Environment Agency (EA) considers a river to be “poor quality bathing water”.

E Coli can cause diarrhoea, severe stomach cramps, vomiting and can be deadly in extreme cases.

In reaction to the results, Feargal slammed the ‘lack of action’ from UK politicians over Britain’s sewage crisis.

“For the last week or so, the leaders of this nation have been lecturing the rest of the world at COP29 about climate change, about global warming, dictating to other nations what they should be doing about their environment.

“And yet, here in our own backyard, we are committing ecocide and destroying what should be the finest river on Earth. It's hypocritical”.

He also took aim at Southern Water, the company responsible for dumping sewage in the Test.

Southern Water has over £6 billion in debt, making it one of the UK's most indebted water companies.

In July, Southern Water handed its chief executive a £183,600 bonus - part of a total pay package of £764,000.

This comes as the company is seeking an 84% increase to people’s bills in the next 5 years.

In response to LBC’s investigation, a Southern Water spokesperson said: “These results reflect what we’d expect from a river flowing through a rural catchment – as elsewhere, agriculture adds various nutrients, e.coli and ammonia to the watercourse.

“We’re working hard to reduce phosphate levels in the treated effluent we do release: of course, phosphates come from other sources too; but the results you’ve recorded are better than what the Environment Agency recommends for our wastewater sites.

“Protecting the environment - and in particular the beautiful chalk streams in this region like the Test and Itchen – is a top priority for Southern Water. We’ll be investing a billion pounds in that over the next five years, as well as working in partnership with campaigners and communities fighting hard to raise the ecological status of these precious rivers.”