Closed petition Ban water companies dumping sewage in chalk streams

Closed on 2 November 2023

Currently, water companies are allowed to dump sewage in waterways during "extraordinary circumstances". This includes chalk streams, a vulnerable ecosystem found almost only in England. These rare waterways need greater legal protection from sewage discharges by water companies.

We believe it is a travesty that water companies can dump sewage anyway, but for them to do it in vulnerable ecosystems that are so specific to Great Britain, like the humble chalk stream, is disgusting. Our waterways should be protected from untreated human waste, especially during the ongoing environmental crisis. Fines for water companies may have some effect in the short term, but to really save Britain's waterways, the Government must ban sewage discharge in chalk streams.