So much sewage is being discharged into U.K. waterways that 50 beaches have pollution warnings and France is complaining about it reaching the continent. Poor regulatory oversight and broken monitoring systems are among the problems, and the U.K. government appears to be in denial about the problem.
Water UK, which represents the UK water industry, has said water firms "agree there is an urgent need" for action and are investing more than £3bn to improve overflows as part of a wider national environmental programme between 2020 and 2025. A spokesperson for the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was untrue that the UK was not holding itself to water quality targets … However, the Liberal Democrats have accused water companies of failing to properly monitor sewage, saying many such monitoring devices have either not been installed or do not work.
Brexit Britons dreaming of war might never get to see battle, but dysentry will soon be on-tap.
Here's some footage of raw sewage blasting onto a beach near Bexhill in Sussex:
