Southern Water dumped raw sewage in River Test last year

Southern Water dumped untreated sewage into River Test and its tributaries, including the River Anton, for more than 4,000 hours in 2020.

The total duration of the spillages equates to almost six months.

One resident said she was "angry" to hear about the statistics, whilst a councillor in Andover said that Southern Water "has to do more".

Meanwhile, the water company said it acknowledges it "must reduce the frequency and impact of these spills".

Data from the government, and compiled by the Rivers Trust, relating to eight sewer storm overflows in 2020 revealed the sheer scale of the spills.

The River Test at Houghton Lodge Gardens. Photo: Pete Fennell

It covers much of the northern part of the River Test, from Overton in the north (28 hours of spillage) to Kings Somborne in the south (total of 2,043 hours).

Speaking to the Advertiser, Cllr Luigi Gregori, Andover town councillor and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for North West Hampshire, said that Southern Water has a "bad reputation" amongst residents.

He added: "Hampshire has an important river and stream ecosystem. The ever-increasing volumes of untreated sewage being released into our rural rivers and waterways is not just bad news for the environment but also small local businesses.

The data

• Overton water treatment works (WTW): 10 spills, 28.12 hours (settled storm)
• Kings Somborne WTW: 118 spills, 2043.48 hours (storm & settled storm)
• Stockbridge WTW: 124 spills, 2200.99 hours (settled storm)
• White Hart Lane, Stockbridge: 13 spills, 58.23 hours (storm & emergency)
• Houghton Road, Stockbridge: 1 spill, 0.97 hours (storm)
• Anton Lane, Andover (River Anton): 1 spill, 1.35 hours (storm)

"Residents in areas such as St Mary Bourne, the Pentons and Abbotts Ann have endured tankers removing, transporting and then emptying wastewaters from rural environments because of their ageing infrastructure. Meanwhile, new developments such as Picket Twenty suffer from an inability to remove surface water.

"To move forward, Southern Water has to do more. I would suggest the first thing to do is explain in ordinary language that we can all understand what they are going to do to fix their problems.

"The next stage is to identify what their partners including developers and councils need to do to fix our problems.”

And Alison Vaspe, who regularly writes to The Advertiser surrounding water quality issues, said she was "angry" to hear about the data.

67-year-old Alison lives in Anna Valley, having moved to the banks of the Pillhill Brook ten years ago from Winchester.

Pillhill Brook in Anna Valley.

She said: "I was first tipped off to what was going on in spring this year, when a neighbour sent me a video of something being dumped into Pillhill Brook.

"To do it without making sure that people even know about it… We have had tankers at the corner of Foundry Road and the A343 for months and months but they never bothered to let us know what they were doing."

The River Test is a highly treasured chalk stream that has been recognised as England's equivalent to the rainforests - and its tributaries are important to its overall health. Chalk streams such as this are incredibly unique - there are only about 200 in the world.

It is a fishing hotspot, with people coming from miles around to fish for trout. Among its biggest fans is TV presenter Chris Tarrant.

The clear waters of the River Test at Overton.

Explaining what the chalk streams mean to her and why we should protect them, Alison added: "My sister comes from Yorkshire and she always talks about how beautiful chalk streams are.

"We have lovely clear waters and it is why people very often come on holiday to fish.

"What are we doing allowing these water companies to get away with doing what they are doing, which is not only killing the rivers but also destroying the economy. The "Test Valley" says it all.

"There is what they should be doing and what they will be doing. They are in it for profit. What they will do is the bare minimum. What they should do is hang their heads in shame and resign."

Water companies are allowed to release untreated waste when the system becomes overwhelmed. It prevents sewage from backing up into houses and through manhole covers into the street. The news hit the headlines earlier this year when the government ordered its MPs, including Andover's Kit Malthouse, to vote against an amendment that would have banned water companies from doing this. But Caroline Nokes, who represents part of the Test Valley including Barton Stacey, Stockbridge and Romsey, rebelled against the government.

The River Anton in Andover

The amendment was proposed by the Duke of Wellington, who grew up near the River Loddon, another chalk stream that has seen raw sewage dumped on hundreds of occasions last year. Shortly after it failed, the government made a U-turn of sorts, putting forward an amendment of their own which would “secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows”.

Responding to the data, a Southern Water spokesperson said: “Storm overflows are heavily regulated releases of wastewater which predominately occur during periods of heavy rainfall and are an integral part of our Victorian-era sewage system, protect people’s homes and businesses and other properties from the misery of flooding. Despite the fact these releases are typically more than 95% rainwater, we know we must reduce the frequency and impact of these spills.

"To do this we have recently launched a CSO taskforce which alongside £2 billion of investment into our wastewater network and industry-leading Pollution Incident Reduction Plan, will help us deliver an 80% reduction in pollution incidents and storm overflows by 2025 and 2030 respectively.”

“The twin pressures of climate change and a growing population mean that Hampshire needs new water sources to keep local taps and rivers flowing today and in the future.

"By tackling leakages, improving water efficiency and investing in new pipelines and reservoirs, our Water for Life Hampshire programme will help reduce the amount of water we source from the Test and the Itchen, resulting in a higher quality and more resilient water supply for our customers and the environment, whatever the weather.”