Wookey (Somerset) Sewage “Works” – A Disgrace

If something works only half of the time. . . does it work?

If you got in your car, and it only started 60% of the time, its probably due for repairs, and maybe replacement. . . . and if you paid £100 Million for that car, how about that? And then what about if after buying the car the garage had stuffed it full of smelly rubbish. . . are you getting cross yet? Well this is happening to you right now.

“Discovery “

As part of routine investigations for Nutrient Neutrality work we have conducted some research on Wookey Water Recycling Centre.

Wookey Water Recycling Centre (WRC) is only treating 60% of the sewage that is piped to it. It discharges in to the River Axe.

Facts and Figures

The Wookey WRC is so neglected, that for 60% of the time over the last 2 years of monitoring, the sewage has been discharged directly in to the river without being treated.

The data sown in the below table is stark.  3,500 approx hours of raw sewage, filled with wet wipes, sanitary towels and condoms etc being but directly in to the River Axe.

While exact spill volumes (in cubic meters) are not readily available in public summaries (water companies typically report duration and frequency), I can provide recent, specific data on the duration and frequency of sewage spills from the Wookey Water Recycling Centre (WRC) near Wells, Somerset, which discharges into the River Axe.¹ This WRC is a key local site operated by Wessex Water.²

The data below represents spills from the Wookey WRC, which is the sewage treatment works (STW) for the area, and associated Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in the River Axe catchment, based on recent Environment Agency and water company data (primarily from 2024 and 2023 reporting periods).

Sewage Spill Data near Wookey, Wells (Wessex Water)

Site Name	Asset Type	Reporting Year (e.g., 2024)	Number of Sewage Dumps	Total Duration (Hours)	Percentage of Total Hours in a Year (%)
Wookey Water Recycling Centre	STW/WRC	2024	197	3,541	40.4%
WOOKEY WATER RECYCLING CENTRE	STW/WRC	2023	148	3,696	42.2%
GLEN COTTAGE CSO	CSO	2024	56	172	2.0%
AXE ROAD COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW	CSO	2024	11	22	0.25%

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Key Takeaways for Wookey WRC (2023/2024 Data)

1. High Duration: The Wookey Water Recycling Centre (WRC) is a major contributor to pollution in the River Axe.³ For the 2023 reporting period, it had an extremely high total overflow duration of 3,696 hours (equivalent to 154 days of non-stop spilling).
2. Percentage of Total Hours: For 2023, the Wookey WRC overflowed for 42.2% of the year (3,696 hours / 8,760 total hours in a year). For 2024, the duration was slightly lower at 3,541 hours, or 40.4% of the year. This demonstrates a massive and persistent issue.

Frequency: In 2024, the Wookey WRC spilled 197 times

Who Is To Blame?

Things change. Populations grow. Rain water volumes increase. So yes sewage companies have more work to do. But they aren’t doing what is required. And what’s more they are making huge sums of money whilst permanently ruining our rivers.

Wessex Water’s profits are typically reported for the financial year ending around June 30th. Based on the most recent published financial statements:

1. Financial Year Ending June 30, 2024 (FY 2023/2024):
   • Wessex Water reported a Profit before tax of £17 million
   • (This was a significant turnaround from the previous year.)
2. Financial Year Ending June 30, 2023 (FY 2022/2023):
   • The company reported a Loss before tax of £43.2 million.

That’s Bad. . . But

As well as profits from Wessex Water another $65 Million dollars was “shifted” to YTL, Wessex Water’s Owners in Maylaisia. This is problematic.

The profits generated by a UK monopoly (Wessex Water) are being taken out of the country, reducing the potential UK tax base on the subsequent distribution and leading to concerns that a public service is being used to enrich foreign shareholders while the UK faces infrastructure and service issues.

The Mechanism: Debt Loading

Wessex Water is 100% owned by YTL Power International Berhad (a subsidiary of the Malaysian YTL Corporation). The standard practice for UK water companies owned by foreign private equity or conglomerates is to load the UK operating company with large amounts of debt.

• Wessex Water takes on debt (either from external markets or, crucially, via intra-group loans from YTL subsidiaries).
• The interest payments on this debt are treated as a tax-deductible expense in the UK, which significantly reduces the UK company’s taxable profit.
• This interest income then flows to the foreign parent (YTL) or its offshore affiliates, where it may be taxed at a lower rate or potentially zero, depending on the routing mechanism (such as using “quoted Eurobonds”).

This transfer of wealth in the form of tax-deductible interest is the core volume of the potential profit shifting.

Financial Estimation

Publicly available accounts for Wessex Water Services Finance Plc (which holds much of the group debt) provide the clearest indication of the scale:

• Total Interest Expense: For the financial year ending June 30, 2021, Wessex Water reported Financial Expenses (primarily interest payments) of approximately £78.7 million.
• Cash Flow Interest Paid: The actual cash flow for “Interest Paid” in the same period was £62.1 million.

This range of £62 million to £78 million represents the annual interest payment burden that reduces the company’s UK taxable profit and transfers value to its owners/affiliates.

Is The Axe Your Local River?

Lots of people are making money whilst dumping plastics, and other damaging materials in your local river. Not to mention all of the $h1t.