Joe Lycett Tackles The UK’s Sewage Crisis | Joe Lycett Vs Sewage | Channel 4

Southern Water told us it takes protecting the environment “incredibly seriously” and says it is leading the industry in tackling storm overflows and in working to improve water quality.

Joe Lycett investigates the mind-boggling quantities of untreated sewage discharged into our waterways every day and takes the fight to the water companies in the most Joe Lycett way possible...

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[NickyRyan-ye]

Thank you so much Joe for getting involved and trying to help with this awful situation. I am a keen sea swimmer, however, last year I became ill after swimming with throat infections, ear infections and feeling unwell .It’s absolutely outrageous what these companies are doing

[brigrills]

It's basically industrial fly tipping, we (the consumer) pay the water company to take the waste away & dispose of it properly, they just pour it into the sea/river. It's no different to dumping household waste in country lanes/beauty spots. They should be fined repeatedly & have the dividends cancelled.

[RankinMsP]

"I'm not spilling 💩 everywhere. Who fo you think I am, GB News?"
😂😂😂
Quality
Genius

[badabingbadaboomboom]

Thank you so much Joe - this is exactly what we need. I will share this as much as I can. We are stronger together 😃

[LornaShoreBabe]

Thank you for bringing light to this issue. I had no idea this was happening!! South west water emailed!!

[jimbomorton]

A problem that nobody knows about or ignores is the fact that in the uk for some reason storm water is not kept separate from sewage. So every time we get lots of rain the sewage treatment plants get overloaded, so the problem will not be solved until storm water is kept separate. Even third world countries have separate systems

[petergilbert]

Where is the link Channel 4? Surely you need to make this as easy as possible for people to complain to their water companies?

[bogdanmchugh]

Props to Ron Weasley's dad for tackling this issue 💯

[naturalnaiad]

You're really a HERO joe. We love you.

[TREVONBACH]

To the badass of badassery. . . THANK YOU. You are doing more for awareness around the world than most. If I ever had the opportunity to meet, I'd simply offer a hug and a gift of thank you in person. BUT I live across the pond and fear flying, so you have no worry.

Thank you for being a worldwide hero.

[petersharp]

I don't see how the water companies can call these discharges 'spills'. The word 'spill' implies an accident.

[malcolm]

If a company has broken the law, especially in an large scale organised frequent manner surely POCA the proceeds of crime act would apply and profits should be recovered.

[Ribeirasacra]

It is not only in the UK.
The latest over spill here in Spain is in Benidorm. It is also said to be a blue flag beach too.

[HurricaneOK]

Wait how aren't there laws to stop water companies from dumping raw sewage into your sea? In New Zealand we have laws, and quite strict enforcement of them, for instances where anyone (including Government departments like councils) negligently discharge sewage. You should try having some laws.

[AdamDaviesSussex]

Southwest water was recently fined £2.15m. Their profits were ~£130m. I'd assume they take fines into account and note is an operating cost at this point. They're allowed to essentially mark their own homework. Why would they care? Email sent.

[lynmason]

Thank you for making this programme on the danger of raw sewage going into our rivers & sea.
I remember when these companies where past on to these companies & the where sold, at the time we were tolt that money needs spending in the sewerag THAT IS WHY THEY WERE GOING TO BE PRIVATISED THIS WAS IN 1989. MARGARET THATCHER SAID THE PRIVATIZATION WILL ENABLE TO SPEND MONEY ON MODERNISING THE OLD SEWRIDGE WORK.
Perhaps planing for new homes should STOP BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLACES FOR THE SEWAGE TO GO ONLY TO THE SEA, THE COUNCIL NEED TO BE AWARE OF THERE IS NO ROOM IN THE SYSTEM TO TAKE THE POO & THE REST OF THE WATER.
JOE I do hope you read this. 😅

[solophiesoterica]

@channel4 you know if you check your bill, the water company charges you both an equal amount for water delivery as it does for drainage. I argued this with the water companies once saying “I drank some of that” anyway point being…we need a class action law suit against the water companies to reclaim 50% of our water bills since 2016, since the premis and contract agreement was that they dealt with the water waste, cleaned it up, and repurposed it.

[yamadakenji]

I can remember in the 1980s one of the news programs on the box asked one night "Is Britain the Dirty Man of Europe?". And that was "just" about occasional dumping stuff at sea (industrial waste, not human feces)

[johnbird]

2024 and just under 500 people in my village in south Lincolnshire have no mains drainage or a gas supply so we have a kerosebe boiler for the hot water and central heating. We all have water treatment plants, cess tanks or cess pits. Less than 10 miles away in west Norfolk, where we used to live, the whole village had mains drainage. That's progress on the east coast for you.

[georgedawson]

Well done Joe 👏
Hope it's not too late