The Liberal Democrats' parliamentary candidate for West Dorset says the area "deserves better" from local water companies. 

The comments from Bridport resident and parliamentary hopeful Edward Morello came after data was released by the Environment Agency this week, showing that water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas in England for more than 1.75 million hours in 2022.

Wessex Water, which supplies Dorchester, was responsible for 21,878 sewage overflows, totalling 129,957 hours last year, while South West Water which supplies areas further west in the county, including Lyme Regis, released sewage for a staggering 290,271 hours – the second highest figure in the country.

Mr Morello said: "I'm disgusted by the damage this Conservative government is allowing the water companies to do to our rivers and beaches. There is not a part of West Dorset that is untouched by this."

"People may think it is just the coast that is affected, but actually Sherborne had over 100 hours of sewage pouring into the River Yeo last year, and one of the worst affected places in West Dorset is Sydling St Nicholas, where raw untreated sewage poured in Sydling Water for over 1,000 hours!" 

Analysis of the Environment Agency data by the West Dorset Liberal Democrats showed that there was over 300 hours of sewage released into the River Frome at Dorchester.

Collectively, releases at West Bay, West Bexington, Charmouth, Burton Bradstock and Bridport resulted in nearly 900 hours of sewage release into Lyme Bay, while he River Lim alone saw over 2,000 hours of discharge ending at Church Cliff Beach in Lyme Regis.

Mr Morello added: "It is not right that residents should have to put up with raw sewage in our water just because the Conservative government refuses to act against the water companies. 

"Our local MP even voted against measures that would have prevented water companies from continuously dumping sewage in our rivers and beaches.

"The Liberal Democrats will ban water companies from doing so. We force them to end this practice. West Dorset deserves better."

Water companies could face unlimited find for dumping sewage

The Conservative government has announced plans to invest more than £1.6million into vital infrastructure to improve the water quality of rivers, lakes and coastal waters, and secure future water supplies, with Sidmouth among South West to be prioritised.

It also announced this week that water companies could face unlimited fines for dumping sewage under government plans due to be unveiled in the coming days.

Ministers want to lift a penalty cap of £250,000 for companied that release sewage into rivers and the sea.

The government is expected to shortly announce plans to "make polluters pay", addressing all sources of pollution, including plastics and chemicals used in farming.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said she would "be making sure that money from higher fines and penalties – taken from water company profits, not customers – is channelled directly back into rivers, lakes and streams where it is needed".

Money raised from penalties goes to the Treasury, but under new plans will go into a Water Restoration Fund run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

'Making great steps', says West Dorset MP

Current West Dorset MP Chris Loder was among Conservative MPs to be heavily criticised in 2021, when they voted to remove seven lines from an amendment to the Environment Bill, put forward by the House of Lords, which suggested putting a new legal duty on water firms to "take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows".

However, Mr Loder has remained adamant that the bill has helped to make progress in cleaning up our rivers and holding water companies to account.

He said: "I voted through the Environment Act in parliament just over a year ago, and it has been making great steps ever since; holding water companies to account on their environmental record and getting clear, deliverable and enforceable targets.

"I am especially pleased that after my interventions, South West Water are moving way ahead of the deadlines under this new law and bringing forward early the requirements for monitoring real time information and expediting their investment strategies to tidy up our rivers and beaches for good.

"I will continue working hard to ensure the improvements we need to see are delivered locally, on the ground and making a real difference to our rivers and beaches. I remain focused in Westminster on ensuring water companies are more rigorously held to account on their environmental record."

Mr Loder also recently welcomed the launch of South West Water's "revolutionary" new water monitoring platform Waterfit.

This will report real-time information on water quality and investment strategies to slash sewage discharges across the area, including in Lyme Regis, where the MP says he has been actively campaigning for the reclassification of Church Cliff Beach as a bathing beach, which will allow for more water quality testing to be carried out.

The WaterFit Live map is designed to share information about the region's bathing beaches, location and performance of storm overflows and South West Water's plans to improve water quality.

For more details visit https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/environment/waterfit/waterfitlive/

Before the launch, Mr Loder held a summit in Westminster with the CEO of South West Water's parent company, Pennon, where he doubled down on the need for greater transparency and action on sewage and water quality.

The Conservative MP has also welcomed news that Ofwat had backed calls for water company's dividends to be linked to their environmental performance.

The change would require company boards to take account of their performance – for customers and the environment – when deciding whether to make dividend payments. It will also require companies to maintain a higher level of overall financial health.