This was the scene on the River Ouse in York yesterday evening (Monday).
A slick of raw sewage flowed from close to Ouse Bridge along the river.
It followed a torrential downpour in the city.
Riverside resident Michael Neal took these photos. “It’s unacceptable,” he told YorkMix, “after five minutes of rainfall.
“There is no way in this day and age this can be considered normal.”
When this happened in September, this is what the Environment Agency told us:
We are grateful to members of the public who report concerns about pollution of our rivers.
Storm overflows are designed to discharge diluted sewage to rivers or the sea at times of heavy rainfall to prevent it backing up into homes and streets. However, blockages in the sewers, often caused by fats and wet wipes being flushed and poured down the drains, can cause the overflows.
The Environment Agency is working actively with Yorkshire Water to ensure overflows in York are properly controlled and the harm they do to the environment stopped.
There is still much to do to improve the quality of our water and we can all play our part by not by keeping our sewers free of wet wipes and other sanitary products as well as ensuring fats, oils and grease are not poured down the sink.
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