The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) hosted a visit from Professor Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, to our Wallingford site last week (31 May 2023). Chris became well known to many of us through his regular appearances in Covid briefings during the pandemic. The visit was an opportunity to discuss human health impacts related to wastewater in our freshwater rivers and lakes which are of high public and political interest at present.
The meeting began with an overview of the current state of evidence and knowledge gaps pertaining to human health impacts from treated and untreated wastewater (combined sewage overflows (CSOs)) released into our waterways. Prof Whitty engaged in discussions with UKCEH scientists about our work on wastewater surveillance and antimicrobial resistance, and the relative contribution of wastewater and other sources.
We also discussed the indirect effects of sewage waste on human health, including discharges from sewage treatment systems and septic tanks, and runoff from agricultural land linked to increasing nutrient levels in lakes and rivers. High nutrient concentrations encourage toxic algal blooms which can have impacts on animal and human health, particularly to those exposed via open-water swimming.
Prof Whitty was also shown UKCEH’s environmental laboratories and new analytical approaches used in water quality monitoring, environmental DNA and pollution research.
This was a great opportunity to share our insights and expertise on the important links between environmental and human health.
Professor Whitty said: “It was very interesting to visit the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and to hear about the excellent work being done across the centre to understand the various public health impacts of wastewater in public waterways and possible mitigations.”
