The Government is being taken to the European Court of Justice for failing to stop thousands of tonnes of raw sewage flowing into the Thames.
Over the summer vast amounts of raw sewage overflowed into the river from Mogden Sewage Works and other British treatment works, including Crossness and Beckton.
Following one evening of heavy rain in July, 20,000 tonnes of untreated sewage from the Isleworth plant spilled into the river killing more than 200 fish. And just four days later a further 900,000 tonnes of untreated sewage seeped into the river from pumping stations and treatment works along the Thames.
The European Commission has now decided to take legal action because of the threat to human health and to the marine environment posed by untreated water. The EC said the Government was in breach of a 1991 European clean water law requiring treatment of sewage before discharge.
Welcoming the action, Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond Park, said: “It is depressing to hear that it is the EU left to step in to protect the health of British citizens.
“It is very unfortunate that the Government has delayed taking action for so long that it now faces a legal battle.
“Residents are sick of suffering the smell and pollution from raw sewage outflows into the Thames. The worst spills over the summer left hundreds of dead fish floating in the water here.
“I continue to argue that these floods should be treated as a health emergency, as so many people use the river for recreation here, whether boating, rowing or swimming.”
A spokesman from Defra, the Government body responsible for environment, food and rural affairs, said: "While we can’t comment on the specifics of this case, we remain confident that water quality in the UK is at a consistently high level.
“We’ve invested massively in improvements to overflows under the EU's urban waste water directive. £2.5bn has been spent on improvements in England and Wales since 1989 and a further £1bn is planned for work to combined sewage outlets, as well as an additional £2.6bn for the Thames Tunnels project.”
Thames Water declined to comment.
Thames Water, which manages Mogden, argued at the time that the summer sewage overflows proved the need for sewage works to be increased.
Earlier this year Hounslow Council approved plans by Thames Water to expand Mogden, which will allow the sewage works to increase its capacity by 40 per cent.
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