Thames Water launches a live sewage discharge map – see if your local drain is overflowing

Thames Water have launched a map of its sewage discharge points to mark the new year – and those living in the area won’t be very impressed.

The map appears to show a host of monitors registering live discharge as of 1:40pm, with many focussed around Oxford and out into the Berkshire countryside.

The company has come under extreme criticism in recent months for high sewage discharge into brooks, streams and rivers – polluting the countryside and potentially making some water unsafe.

Thames Water, which serves the capital and a vast swathe of the area outside it, was forced to apologise last week after a host of sewage discharges over the Christmas period.

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The new map allows residents to see if their local storm overflow is “discharging” – and what’s it’s discharging into.

“Our monitor indicates this storm overflow is currently discharging,” reads the all-too-prevalent red notice.

“This means there could be sewage in this section of the watercourse.”

One storm drain – in Andoversford – appears to have been flowing into the River Coln for some 195 hours.

Another, in Horseferry Road, is discharging into the Thames.

Serious pollution incidents increased last year, revealed the water regulator Ofwat in a collection of highly critical reports on the performance of the water industry.

The watchdog described poor performance as “the norm” for some suppliers, and named five suppliers as the worst performing companies operationally.

This includes Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, South West Water, Thames Water, Welsh Water and Yorkshire Water.

The Guardian was the first to identify the map’s existence, with one campaigner telling the newspaper it was proof of the company’s use of the region’s waterways as “toilets.”

A Thames Water spokesperson told the Guardian: “Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us, but we also need to explain what is happening, and why. After a successful trial in the Oxford area, we have decided to provide close to real-time information about storm discharges from all of our 468 permitted locations.

“We are absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing our rivers and the communities who love them, and we want to make these discharges of diluted sewage unnecessary as quickly as possible … the alerts will be available through an open data platform for third parties, such as swimming and environmental groups, to use.”