Wokingham MP Clive Jones has hit out at the government and water companies for “purposefully muddying” the truth regarding the scale of water pollution in Wokingham.
New statistics revealed that in 2025, sewage was dumped into Emmbrook by Thames Water for a total of 159 hours.
He said the Emmnrook is a vital part of the constituency’s ecosystem, running through Wokingham and joining the river Loddon at Hurst.
Under current regulations, water companies are only required to monitor the number and duration of sewage spills, but not the volume of sewage discharged.
Jones has warned that because of this, residents are being kept in the dark about the environmental damage being caused by Thames Water.
The MP is calling for an immediate end to what he has called the ‘Great Sewage Cover-up’, urging water companies to accurately measure sewage spills in volume – not in hours.
Responding to the figures, he said: “For 159 hours, the equivalent of nearly six and a half days straight, sewage was dumped into our beautiful waterways in Wokingham. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“The government is still failing to require water companies to measure exactly how much sewage Thames Water spills into our waterways.
“The truth is being purposefully muddied.
“The people of Wokingham deserve to know the true extent of the damage caused, but it’s impossible to get a clear picture of the pollution in our rivers.
“That’s why I’m calling on the government to end the Great Sewage Cover-up, and force Thames Water to accurately record the volume of sewage spilling into our local waterways.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We are committed to reducing discharges to improve the health of the environment.
£Over the next five years, we are delivering the biggest upgrade to our wastewater network in 150 years, including increased treatment capacity, reduced storm discharges and new nutrient‑reduction schemes.
“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus and transparent data is central to that effort. Across the water industry, current monitoring equipment does not measure the volume of sewage released, except at a small number of sites where this is required by a permit.
“We do have volume monitors at Mogden, Didcot, and several large, combined sewer overflows in London to support engineering work for the Tideway Tunnel.
“Where volume data is available, we publish it.”
