Sewage Discharge Continues for Nine Days in Norfolk River

A sewage overflow has been discharging into a Broads river for nine days, occurring amidst recent storms across the county. Anglian Water’s live monitoring assets indicate that waste has been released into the River Ant from a pipe situated in Horning, Norfolk, since November 19. Anglian Water has attributed the incident to persistently elevated groundwater levels, which have remained high since the record-breaking rainfall of the previous year. An Anglian Water spokeswoman stated: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously, with significant investment and activity under way to tackle the CSO problem.” The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the spillage commenced prior to Storm Bert. The overflow point is situated near the Knackers Wood sewage works, with its discharge flowing into the River Ant. Horning is identified as one of Anglian Water’s more challenging operational sites due to the Broads’ low-lying topography. Data from the Environment Agency revealed that the identical storm overflow released effluent into the same river for 1,747 hours across 91 separate spills in 2023. An Anglian Water spokeswoman commented that the wet weather served as a “contributor to the storm overflow activation.” She added: “We are working at Horning Water Recycling Centre to upgrade technology and equipment to address problems caused by infiltration.” She further explained: “This is because Horning has a very high water table and unstable ground conditions, meaning groundwater levels – which are still very high after last year’s historic wet winter – are causing ingress into our sewer network.” The water company announced intentions to invest £1bn into addressing storm spills, a plan currently under discussion with Ofwat. Steffan Aquarone, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, noted that his constituency experienced 530 sewage spills last year. Aquarone remarked: “The current spill in Horning is reflective of the scale of the sewage issue.” He continued: “I have demanded that Anglian Water invests more into our ageing sewage infrastructure, which can no longer handle the increased amounts of rainwater brought on by climate change.” He concluded: “This is the only way that we can finally stop sewage spills and protect our precious coastline.”