River quality
Reducing our impact on rivers is one of our key priorities. We're treating effluent to high standards, minimising storm discharges, and investing in infrastructure. We all want our rivers to be wonderful places. Running clear and teeming with life: natural beauty spots for people to relax and enjoy.
In reality, there are 3 main factors that threaten our vision for rivers. These are:
- discharges from the water industry
- agriculture and rural land management
- urban and transport runoff
We want to be very clear on our stance. Putting untreated sewage into rivers is unacceptable to us, our customers and the environment.
We're working hard, with the help of the Government, Ofwat and the Environment Agency. Together, we aim to stop untreated discharges and improve our understanding and action on river health.
Storm discharge
Storm discharge and EDM
Storm discharge is released by storm overflows into watercourses during heavy or continued rain to prevent sewer flooding. We use event duration monitoring (EDM) to record storm discharge activity.
Storm discharge map
Our near real-time map shows storm discharge activity, as indicated by our EDM monitors. You can use the map to see if overflows are currently discharging into a watercourse or the date and time of the last recorded discharge.
Storm discharge and flow data
We want to be open and transparent with our data. Access annual storm data discharge reports and total daily volume (TDV) flow data here. You can also use our third party API to integrate our data into your own applications.
Frequently asked questions
Why are some monitors offline? What's the impact of storm discharge on our rivers? What are we doing about frequently discharging sites? You'll find lots of useful information on our FAQ page.
River quality
River monitoring
Continuous treated discharges and intermittent storm discharges can impact the environment. We need to better understand this to make more informed investment decisions in the future.
Our continuous water quality monitoring (CWQM) programme will help us to do this.
Final effluent quality
We monitor the quality of treated effluent before it enters the river. We focus on a set of water quality indicators widely used by regulators and scientists. The indicators measure how sewage treatment works impact ecological river health.
Find out more about out more about the sewage treatment process and how we monitor it.
Get in touch
Do you have questions or concerns about river health but can't find the answer online? You can contact us using our enquiry form.
We'll get back to you as soon as possible.