UK water companies generated over £340 million in revenue last year by channelling billions of litres of industrial and commercial wastewater into sewage treatment works. Experts indicate that these facilities are not equipped to remove most chemical pollutants, leading to their discharge into rivers, seas, and farmland.
Water companies are legally required to accept industrial wastewater and issue “trade-effluent consents” to businesses. However, there is no independent regulator or central register overseeing this process. An investigation by Watershed Investigations, the Guardian, and River Action compiled a database of 26,000 consents, revealing an annual total of 608 billion litres of industrial wastewater entering sewage works.
The permits for industrial wastewater are issued and enforced by the water companies themselves, without direct involvement from environmental regulators. Most sewage works primarily use biological treatment facilities, which are not designed to remove industrial chemicals such as flame retardants, PFAS, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. Some permits reportedly include chemicals like cyanide, chromium, cadmium, and mercury.
Pollutants that survive treatment are discharged into waterways, while those captured in sewage sludge are spread on farmland. This waste also contributes to the overloading of sewer networks, which can trigger raw sewage spills. United Utilities reported the highest revenue from industrial waste last year at £61.6 million, followed by Yorkshire Water at £48.8 million.