Information commissioner urges water firms to ‘be open’ about sewage spills

The true scale of sewage spills into English rivers was first revealed under data transparency rules. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Water companies must be transparent with the public about sewage spill data, the UK’s information commissioner has warned.

John Edwards has written to the water companies calling on them to be as transparent as possible with their customers, and has asked them to disclose information related to sewage discharges every month.