THE latest figures on sewage discharges into the River Tamar in Calstock Parish give residents of Calstock Parish very little comfort that the river is safe,’ said Alastair Tinto, Calstock parish councillor.

Data released by the Environment Agency last Friday show that in 2022 South West Water’s 12 combined sewer overflows in Chilsworthy, Calstock, Gunnislake, Harrowbarrow & Metherell released nearly 7,000 hours of sewage into the Tamar on over 750 occasions.

Harrowbarrow Councillor Andrew Brown said: “This is an improvement on 2021 when the spills were at twice that level but it still equates to nearly 19 hours a day. That is simply not good enough.”

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) allow sewage and rainwater to be diverted into the river at times of heavy rainfall to stop the sewage treatment works from being overwhelmed.

In theory, this means that the sewage is diluted by the time it gets to the river.

Councillor Brown said: “Given that 2022 was a year of drought it’s no surprise that the figures are better that they were in 2021. They jolly well should be.

“But it’s hard to believe that it was raining sufficiently for 19 hours a day to be poured into the river. We believe that a lot of this must be raw sewage.

“These figures are simply the totals for the year. To get properly to the bottom of it we need to know exactly when each spill occurred. Then we can see if it was raining heavily enough to justify the overflows.’

Councillor Tinto said: “South West Water have that data but for 2021 they wouldn’t let us have them, on the grounds that it might prejudice an investigation across the water industry into sewage discharges by Ofwat, the industry watch dog.

“We don’t accept that and we are appealing against that gagging clause.

“We will be asking them for the data for 2022.”

Ofwat, the regulator, sets allowances for how much water companies need to invest to maintain and improve the water network.

Between 2020 and 2022, 14 companies underspent their budgets. South West Water was the worst. They only spent 39% of their waste water enhancement budget.

“That shows that South West Water isn’t doing nearly enough to protect our rivers,” said Councillor Brown.

In June 2022, South West Water became subject to an enforcement case by Ofwat because of concerns about whether they are causing environmental harm through sewage discharges.

Councillor Tinto said: “Pennon, the company which owns South West Water, made profits of £135m in 2022 of which two thirds, £88m, was paid in dividends to their shareholders. It’s time that they put the environment before profit.”