Upgrade water system to protect humans from ingesting trace of poo, Sir Chris Whitty-backed report says
The UK’s sewage system should be upgraded to reduce the risk of people ingesting human poo when they swim in rivers and the sea, a new report backed by chief medical officer professor Sir Chris Whitty has recommended.
The evidence base that people have become ill because they ingested traces of sewage while swimming remains “thin”, Sir Chris said as he unveiled the report, which was produced by a group of engineers.
But Brits are increasingly taking to the water to swim, surf and paddle, and some have become ill afterwards.
This increased exposure, combined with “evidence of the underperformance of overloaded sewers”, may increase the risk of people orally ingesting human faecal organisms, the engineers said.
It comes as a fresh row over water quality broke out last week after confirmed cases of the waterborne disease cryptosporidium were identified in Brixham in Devon – though it may have come from cow faeces which leaked into damaged pipes.
It also follows recent reports that millions of litres of raw sewage had been pumped into Lake Windermere.
While sewers were originally designed to reduce health hazards, over time inspections and investments have tended to focus more on the cost and environmental impact of sewage.
Now human health “also needs to be taken seriously”, Sir Chris told reporters.
Human poo can contain salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli and norovirus, which cause diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and fever.
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Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest
While emergency discharges of raw sewage have been the subject of widespread public attention and anger, they are only “half the problem”, Prof Whitty said.
That’s because some faecal organisms that can cause disease remain even in treated sewage, which is routinely released into the water.
And people are more likely to enter the water in hot, dry weather, when water levels are low and sewage is less diluted.
‘Major wake-up call’
The report, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, suggested a range of solutions to the UK’s crumbling water system, including a review of the way officials protect designated bathing waters.
It raised concerns that current bathing water quality testing – of just once a week in summer – is too infrequent and that some viruses are going undetected.
Water companies, who have been accused of chronic underinvestment, should “improve maintenance and rehabilitation of our ageing wastewater infrastructure”, said Dr Andrew Thompson from Fingleton White, who worked on the research.
The report also called on regulators to monitor not just untreated sewage going into the water but treated water too, and to make data available quickly to help people decide whether to go for a dip.
Pic: PA
Charles Watson, chairman of the River Action campaign group, welcomed calls to improve water quality monitoring.
“Other than at the minuscule number of designated river bathing water sites, nothing is being done to provide river users with even the most basic information on the dangers they are facing.
He said politicians should treat the report as a “major wake-up call, given the past failures to protect the public from the rising tide of sewage pollution”.
The engineers also suggested introducing incentives to members of the public to remove impervious surfaces in urban areas – like patios or paved-over gardens, which would help green cities too.
Pic: PA
A Water UK spokesperson said: “There is an urgent need to invest in our water system. Water companies have a plan with proposals to double the current level of spending between now and 2030… Public health is a major part of the next phase of the programme, with bathing areas heavily prioritised for investment.”
The environment department (Defra) said it will consult later this year on new bathing water rules – though this may not be until after the general election.
They added: “Alongside the Environment Agency securing over £150m fines to date and quadrupling inspections, we are already driving the largest infrastructure programme in water company history of £60bn over 25 years, which will drastically reduce spills.”
The only survivor of the Air India plane crash says he thought he was “going to die”.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, managed to walk away from the wreckage. He was “disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body… but he seems to be out of danger”, according to a doctor who examined him.
There had been 242 people on board flight AI171 when it came down. Among the passengers and crew on the Gatwick-bound aircraft were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a doctors’ hostel in a residential area on Thursday, moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India.
India plane crash: Follow live updates
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Indian PM meets lone survivor of plane crash
Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer in Ahmedabad, said Mr Ramesh was sat in seat 11A, located next to an emergency exit, and “managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door”.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Ramesh said he “still can’t believe” he survived.
He said he thought he “was also going to die” but he then “opened [his] eyes”.
“I pulled out the belt from under my seat and tried to escape. Then I managed to do it,” he told DD India.
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Moment of fatal plane crash in India
Mr Ramesh said “within the first mile” after take-off “it felt like the plane was stuck” and “like something had happened”.
“Then a light came on, like a green and white light came on inside the plane,” he added.
“The pilot was trying to give it a bit of a push to push it forward, but it was struggling. But it went straight into a building.”
He said the side where he landed was not the hostel side and as soon as the plane door broke, he “could see that it was open for [him] and [he had] a chance to get out”.
He said that his brother, Ajay, was seated in a different row on the plane. “He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he told the Hindustan Times.
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What could have caused the India plane crash?
‘Bodies all around me’
Mr Ramesh continued: “It all happened so quickly. When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me.
“Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
From his hospital bed, Mr Ramesh also met India’s prime minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking in Leicester, Mr Ramesh’s brother Nayan told Sky’s Shamaan Freeman-Powell that their father was on the phone to Mr Ramesh while the plane was still on the runway.
“My dad called him,” the 27-year-old said. “And Vishwash said ‘oh we’re going to take off soon’.”
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Plane crash survivor’s brother speaks to Sky News
Two minutes later, their father received a video call from Mr Ramesh to say the plane had crashed and he had survived.
“He video-called my dad as he crashed and said ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive – how I exited the plane’,” Nayan said.
Air India has confirmed 229 passengers and 12 crew members died, but authorities have not confirmed how many people on the ground were killed or injured.
Read more:
Everything we know about the crash
Plane wreckage rips apart medical hostel
Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara. Pic: PA
Who were the victims?
Among the British citizens killed in the crash were Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa, and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
Gloucester Muslim Community said in a statement on Facebook that “no words can truly ease the pain of such a profound loss”.
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek. Pic: Instagram
Also on the flight were married couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek from west London, who had posted a video from the airport on their Instagram feed shortly before boarding.
Gatwick Airport said in a statement that a reception centre was being set up where information and support will be provided for relatives of those on board.
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Tata Sons, Air India’s owner, said it would give around £86,000 to the families of each person who died, cover the medical costs of those injured and support the rebuild of the medical hostel.
British nationals who require consular assistance are advised to call 020 7008 5000, while Air India has set up hotlines to provide information on +91 806 2779 200 for foreign nationals or 1800 5691 444 if calling from India.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for “restraint” and “diplomacy” after Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes on Iran early on Friday.
He called reports of Israel’s so-called Operation Rising Lion “concerning”, but stopped short of condemning it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had targeted the “heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme”, which he feared would eventually be aimed at Israel.
Iran promised “severe punishment” for the attacks, which killed several top commanders and nuclear scientists, and launched 100 drones towards Israel in an initial response.
Follow latest: Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear sites
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Analysis: ‘This is the big one’
In a statement on Friday, Mr Starmer urged “all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently”.
He added: “Escalation serves no one in the region. Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate.
“Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.”
The UK does not appear to have been warned in advance of Israel’s plan to attack Iran.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, had been due to travel to Washington on Friday to meet his American counterpart.
The trip was cancelled once it became known that Israel had launched its operation.
A Whitehall source said the late cancellation of Mr Lammy’s travel plans indicated the UK had not been alerted in advance to the timing of the attack.
However, the UK had been aware of the increasing likelihood of an Israeli mission to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, given the rhetoric from the Israeli government in recent weeks.
Mr Lammy called it a “dangerous moment” and said “stability in the Middle East is vital for global security”.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, British industry minister Sarah Jones also said the UK had not been involved in the Israeli military operation.
It is understood British warplanes are not currently involved in helping to defend Israel’s skies from any Iranian counterattacks.
This could change as the situation develops.
Additional forces could well be sent to a key Royal Air Force base in Cyprus, where Typhoon jets are stationed.
The deployment of reinforcements to RAF Akrotiri has happened in the past during times of crisis in the Middle East.
The US also said it had not been involved in Israel’s attack on Iran, and warned against any retaliation targeting American interests or personnel.
US President Donald Trump had previously urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Iran while Washington negotiates a nuclear deal with the country.
In his first public comment about the attacks, he again urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel’s attacks “will only get worse”.
Without saying whether he was privy to specific Israeli plans, the US president said “there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end”.
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But China, Saudi Arabia and Russia condemned Israel’s strikes, while Japan called the use of military force “deeply regrettable”.
Russia’s foreign ministry called the attack “unprovoked” and “categorically unacceptable” and said it was in breach of the United Nations charter.
Spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry Lin Jian said: “China opposes the violation of Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, opposes the intensification of contradictions, the expansion of conflicts, and the sudden
rise in temperature of the regional situation.”
Takeshi Iwaya, Japan’s foreign minister, said: “Amid ongoing diplomatic efforts, including talks between the United States and Iran, to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue, the use of military force is deeply regrettable.”
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