EU to sue UK over sewage floods into Thames

As I got completely soaked walking up Uxbridge Road today I wondered about whether or not this was going to mean yet more sewage pouring into people's homes in Hammersmith, the key driver for what looks like the inevitable tideway tunnel (or "super sewer" as our esteemed council call it)

Now it would seem the EU are going to sue the UK government over the amount of poo being poured into Old Father Thames - and make the new 'super sewer' in our Borough even more likely. You've got to wonder when our council are going to admit defeat on this one. Even the Mayor has ordered them to fall into line! Furnival Gardens in W6 appears doomed.

This from Reuters news agency:

EU COMMISSION TO SUE U.K. OVER SEWER FLOODS Britain faces court action by the European Union environment watchdog after sewers repeatedly flooded into the river Thames during rainstorms, two EU officials said on Tuesday. The European Commission will also take the British government to the European Court of Justice over sewage spills in Whitburn, northeast England. The case could create pressure for increased investment by Thames Water, part-owned by Australia's Macquarie, and Northumbrian Water Group. "This is partly about health, due to the bacteria and viruses in the waste water. But it's also about the environment due to the high levels of nitrogen and phosphates," said one official. Britain is not properly applying Europe's waste water directive, the Commission is expected to argue when it launches the case on Thursday. Combined sewers, which carry both human waste and rainwater, have been put under pressure in northern Europe during a string of rainy summers, particularly in Britain. Britain is not alone. France, Belgium, Ireland and Spain have similar sewage systems and problems during heavy storms, one EU official said.