Never-ending Sewage
The River Ver has been receiving a continuous discharge of raw sewage from Thames Water’s Markyate Sewage Treatment Works (STW) for the past three months, that’s over 2000 hours, and there’s no sign of it stopping, even in the current dry weather.
The consequences are pretty catastrophic for the delicate ecology of the River Ver, one of only a few hundred chalk streams in the world. Contrast the sparkling little chalk stream above the works with the brown bank-to-bank sludge downstream of the outflow. What’s more, high nitrate levels are evident, even kilometres downstream, where clumps of filamentous algae are depriving the stream of its life-giving oxygen.
Environment Agency Enforcement Action
There is some hope, in that the Environment Agency (EA) visited the failing treatment works on at least one occasion in 2024, a year that saw a truly shocking 4194 hours of sewage discharged. One visit in May resulted in an 11-page Compliance Assessment Report which listed numerous permit breaches, detailed required actions and reveals that the EA is considering what enforcement action to take.
Issues with groundwater inundating the works were of special concern, because of “significant impact on River Ver.” It’s also noteworthy that last August, Thames Water were instructed to “… take immediate action to rectify any non-compliance and prevent repetition.” It would appear that the ongoing discharges since December 2024 represent a repetition. We would very much expect the EA to be following this up.
What are we doing about it?
The Ver Valley Society’s volunteers monitor water quality in the Ver including near Markyate STW to ensure we know when something is amiss and can report incidents. We regularly monitor 10 spots on the Ver with Nitrate, Phosphate and Turbidity levels recorded. The rating at River Hill is consistently ‘Poor Ecological Status’ and Phosphate levels have been rising since the discharges recommenced in December.
Recently, our team has taken silt and water samples for more thorough, independent analysis. This will provide us with better evidence of the ecological damage being done. We are raising funds to support this activity as these tests are around £200 a time – see below.
With your help, our combined persistent reporting will elevate the site for more urgent repairs and improvements. And have Thames Water prepared to implement their surveys for groundwater infiltration when groundwater is at the perfect level to check.
What can you do about it?
- Please email the Environment Agency enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk and say how appalled you are that the situation at Markyate STW is repeating itself in 2025 and ask the EA to press Thames Water for immediate action. And be sure to copy in the local MP Victoria Collins who is taking a strong interest in the case victoria.collins.mp@parliament.uk. We know that all emails will be logged by the EA and the public’s responses do make a difference.
- Please help the VVS raise funds to continue our water testing investigative work by coming to our ‘charity night’ performance of Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy of the People at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans on 15th May. Buy tickets here: https://bit.ly/3PwKPh7
