Government says polluters can dump risky sewage into rivers as Brexit disrupts water treatment

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The government has given polluters the green light to dump risky sewage that has not been properly cleaned into rivers and the sea as Brexit and Covid disrupt normal water treatment. The Environment Agency this week said companies struggling to get hold of the required chemicals would be allowed to "discharge effluent without meeting the conditions" of their permits, which normally require water to be treated by a multi-step process. In a statement released on Monday, the Environment Agency said: "Normally, you need a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 to discharge treated effluent from a waste water treatment works to surface water or groundwater. Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Greens told The Independent: "Our rivers are already appallingly polluted: water companies discharged raw sewage in UK rivers no fewer than 400,000 times last year.