According to reports, between October 3 and 4, 2020, there were two billion litres of raw sewage released into the Thames.
An investigation into Thames Water is now taking place to understand how the Mogden wastewater treatment works in London released the unprecedented amount.
To put the figure in perspective, just half a billion litres of waste was released into the Thames in the whole of 2016.
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Speaking of the incident, an Environment Agency spokesperson said, 'Water quality in the River Thames in London has improved significantly in recent years since the Lee Tunnel has been operating and Thames Water invested in upgrading five sewage treatment works including Mogden'.
However, they said 'our routine compliance monitoring activities have flagged the need for further investigations into operations at the Mogden site', Metro reports.
The agency then added that water companies have a 'legal duty' to avoid pollution. They also said that treatment centres like the one in Mogden 'must act quickly to reduce any damage that happens as a result of their activities'.
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The rising level of sewage in the Thames was confirmed by the Water Quality and Rivers Report. The report found 3.5 billion litres of raw sewage was spilled into the Thames in 2020.
This means that two-thirds of the total spillage for 2020 occurred on those two October dates.
Sarah Bentley, the chief executive of Thames water, commented on the incident in the report, saying the October rainfall left the treatment plant 'inundated' with excess sewage.
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'They were the wettest days on record, and we struggled to treat both the permitted amount, but also just struggled to treat the sewage. On that day there was enough rainfall to fill Loch Ness,' she said.
The chief executive continued, 'We would have needed either another treatment works the same size as Mogden treating another 1 billion litres or we would have needed 150 more storm tanks.'
A spokesperson for Thames Water said they are fully cooperating with the investigation. 'We regard all discharges of untreated sewage as unacceptable and will work with the government, Ofwat and the Environment Agency to accelerate work to stop them being necessary,' they said.
The spokesperson then said that the company had 'an unprecedented amount of investment directed towards safeguarding our rivers and streams', including 'a commitment to invest over £100 million at our Mogden site' but that there was still 'a long way to go'.
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Shola Lee