Press release: Is there a solution to Britain’s water and sewage crisis?

3 February 2025

Martin Daunton, Gresham College's Visiting Professor of Economic History, to give talk on Tuesday, 11 February, at 6pm, in central London and live online. 

Last year, water regulator Ofwat announced plans to issue fines of up to £168 million to three water companies for operational issues at their wastewater treatment plants and for repeatedly discharging sewage from storm outlets – something they should only do in an emergency. 

Some outlets such as Markyate near St Albans have been discharging sewage from an overflow pipe for months at a time. At the time of writing, Thames Water has been using it since December 12, or more than 1,100 continuous hours. 

With the public, backed by musician Feargal Sharkey and former Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, calling for action clearly there is an issue that needs resolving. This February, Gresham College is inviting people to a free lecture looking at how, as a nation, we have come to this point, and to look for alternative solutions. 

Martin Daunton will go back to Victorian times to help people understand more about how the nation went from cesspits, ashpits and night-soil men to one of the most impressive sewer networks in the world as more homes switched to flushing toilets. 

“The rapid growth of British cities in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century led to a crisis of public health, something that something that troubled Charles Dickens, who was an advocate of sanitary reform. Many people today have concerns about the health of our waterways echoing events from 175 years ago.  

“But who should pay for improvements to our water networks? What can we learn from the past? And is Chris Whitty right when he says sewage pollution is a public health priority that must be taken seriously?” 

The lecture will look at some of the issues caused by water companies failing to invest in and maintain the infrastructure of the nation’s water supplies and sewers. It will also look at some of the issues faced by Thames Water, which has run into financial difficulties forcing it to raise prices consumers pay. At the same time, the company has come under pressure from campaign groups such as Surfers Against Sewage.  

Professor Daunton will look at the hoops that had to be jumped through to bring the sewage network came into existence, even after the Great Stink of 1858 that saw MPs debate with hankies over their noses to protect them from the smell.  

Among the stumbling blocks was who should pay for the huge investment in the sewer network in London and other cities, and how making cities healthier came at the cost of pouring sewage into rivers.   

These trade-offs were fought out in the courts, in legislation, and through public protests.   

“To many Victorians across the political spectrum”, he points out, “the answer was that both sewers and the supply of water were properly matters for public provision and not private profit. 

“Privatisation of the water companies has created a new dynamic for our water networks, and with it new problems. Should we be considering taking them back into public ownership? We will explore these issues and offer some solutions.” 

The lecture takes place from 6pm on Tuesday, 11 February, at Barnard's Inn Hall in Holborn.  

Entry is free (advanced booking essential) and, like all Gresham lectures will be streamed live on the Gresham website and YouTube channel, free of charge.  

Gresham College is London’s oldest higher education institution. Founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, it has been delivering free public lectures for over 427 years from a lineage of leading professors and experts in their field who have included Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Iannis Xenakis and Sir Roger Penrose.  

In-person places can be booked online via Gresham College’s website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/water-sewage-crisis 

ENDS

Notes to Editors  

Images available on request

For more information about this story or to arrange an interview with a Gresham Professor please contact: Phil Creighton press@gresham.ac.uk   

About the Cities: Collective Action Versus Private Markets lecture series at Gresham College 
British cities are facing serious problems of housing shortages and high prices, of inadequate investment in basic infrastructure of water and sewage, and of financial strain on local government.  This lecture series looks back to the Victorian era when Britain became the world’s first urban nation.  It resolved a serious crisis of public health and low investment in the urban infrastructure – a process epitomised by Joseph Chamberlain’s mayoralty of Birmingham or Herbert Morrison’s leadership of London County Council. There was a debate over the boundary between private or collective provision, which moved towards collective action. Since the 1980s, there has been a move back to private action and the balance has changed in three areas: the provision of housing, investment in basic utilities and the financial capacity of local government. What solutions can be found for our current problems, and what lessons can be learned from cities in other countries? 

About Gresham College  
Gresham College has been providing free, educational lectures - at the university level - since 1597 when Sir Thomas Gresham founded the college to bring Renaissance Learning to Londoners. Our history includes some of the luminaries of the scientific revolution including Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren and connects us to the founding of the Royal Society.  

Today we carry on Sir Thomas's vision. The College aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to champion academic rigour, professional expertise and freedom of expression. www.gresham.ac.uk  

Gresham College is a registered charity number 1039962 and relies on donations to help us encourage people's love of learning for many years to come. For more details or to make a gift, visit our website.