UK to renovate sewers to prevent sewage from spilling into the English Channel

Sewer workers in action in London (illustration image).

AFP - ADRIAN DENNIS

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Paris accuses London of treating the English Channel as a dump by dumping its waste water there.

The British government has just announced a costly sewer repair plan to put an end to it.

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With our correspondent in London,

Fifty-six million pounds sterling, or 66 million euros, will have to be invested by water suppliers to ensure that nothing more is dumped into the seas and rivers by 2050. A colossal expense which will translate into higher bills for consumers, explains British Environment Minister George Eustice.

Plus around 12 pounds per year per household by 2035.

Until then, it was this risk of cost explosion for the taxpayer that had dissuaded the government from taking action.

UK sewers date back to Victorian times and it is not uncommon for them to leak or even overflow, leading thousands of liters of sewage straight into the waterways.

Dozens of beaches had to be banned for swimming this summer.

The renovation will be carried out in two stages: first the pipes near the bathing areas, then the entire network before 2050.

The announcement is surprising just hours after

, while the government is living its last days, and Boris Johnson has pledged not to take binding decision for his successor.

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