Sewerage and Sewage as an Environmental Health Issue

Book excerpt: This book examines the increasingly prevalent issues around sewerage and sewage and explores what environmental health practitioners (EHPs) can contribute to addressing this issue and what further action is required. The book sets out an analysis of the contents of raw sewage, including what should not be flushed away, explaining that householders who flush non-flushable products into the sewerage system contribute to the problem (and also give the water and sewerage companies an excuse). The work explains the terminology used and will also examine the legal issues that have arisen from failure of the UK sewerage system to operate or be operated as intended to protect public health. The operation of the privatised water and sewerage companies in England and Wales and the regulatory system to which they are supposedly subject is scrutinised along with an examination of what EHOs/EHPs can do to address the problems that lead to sewage from homes and businesses polluting the environment. The book considers what has been called regulatory failure, what reforms and investments are needed, and what EHPs can do to bring pressure on other agencies and policy makers to ensure that untreated sewage does not end up polluting to environment. This book is essential reading for all environmental health practitioners, but also anyone keen to learn more about the issues surrounding the increasingly volatile UK sewage system and the companies and institution involved in its operation and governance.