Supplementary submission to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s ‘Water Quality in Rivers’ inquiry looking at the extent of ultra-violet (UV) treatment at UK sewage treatment works
This supplementary submission to the Env. Audit Committee considers the treatment of human sewage at sewage treatment works (STWs) in the UK, focusing primarily on data relating to the English water companies on the assumption that the other countries of the UK are following a similar pattern. For discharges of treated sewage effluent to rivers and the sea to be entirely pathogenpathogens A virus, bacterium or parasite which causes disease is a pathogen. Disease causing pathogens live in the environment, and both humans and animals are hosts to them. Pathogenic viruses, bacteria and parasites are present in sewage, originating from humans and animals, and thus it is essential that sewage is given proper treatment in order to disable (kill) these pathogens before the end-products of sewage treatment (solids and water effluent) are returned to the environment. free it is essential that the sewage treatment works (STW) operates with tertiary stage treatment and that this tertiary treatment uses exposure of the discharge effluent (water) to intense ultra-violet (UV) light or an equally equivalent neutralising procedure. This supplementrary research by Marinet has sought to establish how many of England’s STWs are actually using UV tertiary teatment. It turns out that the figure is around only 3%. Therefore the vast majority are discharging treated sewage effluent to rivers and the sea which still contains pathogenspathogens A virus, bacterium or parasite which causes disease is a pathogen. Disease causing pathogens live in the environment, and both humans and animals are hosts to them. Pathogenic viruses, bacteria and parasites are present in sewage, originating from humans and animals, and thus it is essential that sewage is given proper treatment in order to disable (kill) these pathogens before the end-products of sewage treatment (solids and water effluent) are returned to the environment. (viral, bacterial and parasitic). Clearly, this creates a public health risk.
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