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This Is Why

Water woes: Could sewage in the sea lead to higher bills?

This Is Why

Sky News

News, Daily News, News Commentary

4.0 • 552 Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The amount of raw sewage being spilled into England’s waterways has hit a record high – more than doubling since last year.
  
Water companies are allowed to do this, but only in exceptional circumstances to prevent sewage washing back up into our homes.  

But, there’s growing evidence sewage is being routinely dumped by water firms when it’s not needed, polluting England’s waters more to the point where rowers in this year’s Oxford and Cambridge boat race have been warned not to go into the Thames. 
 
Customers could end up paying more too – as water companies in England and Wales want bills to increase to fund the necessary infrastructure upgrades.
  
On this edition of the Sky News Daily, Leah Boleto is joined by climate reporter Victoria Seabrook and business correspondent Paul Kelso to explain how England’s rivers and seas have got to this state and what this could mean for our water bills.   

Producer: Alex Edden 
Assistant producer: Iona Brunker  
Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce 
Editor: Paul Stanworth 

Transcript

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0:00.0

You know, when Helen used to get home from work, I'd ask, how are you?

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Fine, she'd say.

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She clearly wasn't.

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After 10 years in IT, she was on autopilot.

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Then she found this job, training up-and-coming tech wizas at the college,

0:15.0

same skills but with new people, new challenges.

0:19.0

Now when she gets back, I get the full debrief.

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Can't get a word in.

0:25.0

Give your skills new life.

0:26.5

Train others.

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Search jobs in further education.

0:30.1

This Easter at M&S, you'll find a selection of the yummias chocolate animals.

0:34.5

There's hiccup the hippo with his darling chubby little legs. And Sunny the

0:38.9

sloth beaming with his milk and white chocolate features. Toby the T-Rex, who's a bit green,

0:44.6

bit scary, but charming at the same time. And Ralph the Cavapoo. I almost don't want to bite

0:50.6

his scrumptious little nose right off. But I will.

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1:04.7

Eleanor Williams' claims that she'd been trafficked by an Asian grooming gang led to protests, racist attacks and claims of a cover-up.

1:10.0

Eventually, she was jailed for lying.

...

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