I'm sick of paddleboarding through sewage - water companies are a national disgrace

The River Exe should be a haven. Families fish, paddleboard, swim, and walk along it daily. But for years, we’ve put up with foul smells and even fouler water. Every time it rains, raw sewage pours into the river from Countess Wear Wastewater Treatment Works.

This isn’t just a local issue. It’s a national disgrace.

The sewage plant at Countess Wear can only treat up to 1,000 litres per second. After that, storm tanks fill, and once they’re full, the rest goes straight into the Exe. The site is already at capacity — and I’ve been told by a former worker that there is no physical space left to build more treatment tanks. Even worse, I’ve received reports that the final settlement tanks are cracked and leaking due to subsidence.

And yet, South West Water is still legally required to connect new housing developments to this broken system.

Under Section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991, if a development has planning permission, the water company must provide a connection, even if its infrastructure can’t cope. They can raise concerns, but they cannot say no.

That’s why I’ve launched an e-petition to change the law. My proposal would legally compel water companies to object to new developments when the local sewage system is already at or over capacity. That objection would block planning approval until infrastructure is improved.

This would force water companies to reinvest profits into upgrading the system before paying shareholder dividends. It would rebalance priorities: putting public health and the environment ahead of short-term profit.

Because let’s be honest — water companies today aren’t utilities. They’re investment vehicles, owned by offshore asset managers, draining our infrastructure to make a profit. And they know that when it all collapses, the government will step in. What choice does it have? Let sewage flow or bail them out.

Meanwhile, here on the River Exe, not a single salmon has returned to spawn this year. That’s not just a tragedy — it’s a warning. If the salmon are disappearing, who’s next?

It’s time to stop pouring money into dividends while we pour sewage into our rivers.

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Edward Hill is a County Councillor in Devon.

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