Water companies ‘misleading public over colossal volumes of sewage being dumped in our rivers'

Water and sewage companies are using disinformation tactics to mislead the public and downplay the environmental harm they cause, a new study has claimed.

Researchers, including environmental experts from the University of Manchester, said they had uncovered ‘widespread use of greenwashing’ by England’s nine major water companies - including United Utilities, which serves Greater Manchester and the north west. The research team analysed communications from water companies and compared them to a framework of 28 greenwashing tactics which they said are also commonly used by the tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuels and chemical industries.

They claimed to have found evidence of the use of 22 of these tactics in the water sector - including strategies to downplay environmental harm, misrepresent information, undermine scientific research, shift blame and delay action.

One of the research team, Professor Jamie Woodward, told the M.E.N. how ‘colossal volumes of sewage’ were being dumped into the rivers of Greater Manchester from combined sewer overflows (CSOs). CSOs discharge untreated sewage and wastewater into waterways when the sewerage system becomes overloaded, for example during periods of heavy rainfall.

Analysis of Environment Agency overflow data from 2023 - the most recent full-calendar year figures available - showed that the River Irwell, which flows through parts of Bury, Bolton, Salford and Trafford, and its surrounding catchment areas was the worst sewage dumping ground in England. The storm overflows around the Irwell valley discharged raw sewage 12,000 times in 2023 - the highest rate of all English rivers when accounting for length, at 95 spills per mile.

However, the researchers said that the water companies have