The Government has been pushed by councillors to do something to stop "huge poo islands" forming in a county's rivers. In September 2020 a damning report by the Environment Agency found that all of Somerset's rivers were "polluted beyond legal limits".
It was put down to chemical pollution and sewage being discharged into the watercourses. One councillor said that he had been contacted by a local resident who had encountered sewage while wild swimming in the River Tone.
Somerset West and Taunton Council has called for the EA's funding to be restored so that it can better monitor pollution levels and work with Ofwat to bring offenders to a successful prosecution. Councillors will also continue to push for a solution to the phosphates crisis, which is delaying numerous housing developments across the county, reports SomersetLive.
