Commonwealth Games triathletes ‘at risk of swimming in raw sewage’

‘They could be swimming in raw sewage on their way to winning a medal’, Liberal Democrat analysis suggests

Georgia Taylor-Brown hands over to team-mate Alex Yee in Tokyo 2020. The triathletes are both favourites at this year’s games in Birmingham (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Triathletes competing at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this weekend are "at risk of swimming in raw sewage", the Liberal Democrats have warned.

Data published by the Environment Agency, indicates that raw sewage has routinely been dumped into a tributary of Longmoor Pool in Sutton Park, the party said, which is connected to where the athletes will swim, while a monitor which is supposed to record sewage dumps into Wyndley Pool has not been operational for long periods of time.

Sutton Park, a 2,400-acre nature reserve north of Birmingham, is home to seven lakes including Powell’s Pool, which is the largest and will be where triathlon competitors will compete.

Longmoor Pool and Wyndley Pool are the two nearest lakes to Powells Pool and are both directly connected by watercourses, Ordnance Survey maps show.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats released just hours ahead of the opening of the Games on Thursday found that raw sewage was dumped into the Longmoor Pool tributary for almost five hours in total last year. They also said the equipment designed to monitor raw sewage dumps into Wyndley Pool was only functional for 14 per cent of the time in 2021, meaning there were 314 days last year when raw sewage could have been dumped into the lake without anyone knowing.

The Liberal Democrat’s environment spokesperson, and former leader, Tim Farron, said: “This is frankly shocking.

"Elite athletes from across the Commonwealth are heading to Birmingham to compete and they could be swimming in raw sewage on their way to winning a medal.

“This shows how out of hand these sewage discharges have become. We need to see action from the Conservatives and the candidates to be prime minister must commit to taking action against these unscrupulous water companies.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for action now. This means slapping a sewage tax on the profits of water companies to fund cleaning up our waterways and a ban on bonuses for sewage company bosses.”

The Lib Dems’ analysis comes after the Environment Agency called for a huge scaling up of fines for polluting water companies, and for directors to be jailed due to the overall “appalling” performance by England’s nine water and sewerage companies.

A spokesperson for Birmingham 2022 reassured athletes that regular testing was being carried out at Sutton Park, and the water quality met all international regulations.

They said: “The water quality in Sutton Park is frequently tested by Birmingham 2022 and Birmingham City Council and all recent results were in line with international federation regulations. Frequent testing will continue.

“We look forward to welcoming the triathletes and para triathletes from across the Commonwealth to Sutton Park, one of the largest urban parks in Europe and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.”

Severn Trent did not dispute the data, but a spokesperson told The Independent: “Sutton Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Severn Trent ranger is based full time at the park monitoring and sampling water quality daily. This is in addition to having hundreds of sensors on our system in and around the park.

"We work closely with the Environment Agency, Birmingham City Council and local groups to protect and enhance the environment at Sutton Park. We are absolutely committed to caring for our region’s rivers and have been consistently recognised as a leading performer for our environmental credentials by the Environment Agency.”

The Independent has contacted the organisers of the Games and the Environment Agency for further comment.