Man was left critically ill with sepsis after paddle in River Kennet
A man was left critically ill when he contracted an infection that led to sepsis after paddling in a river where sewage had been dumped.
Gordon Pepper, who lives in the village of Mildenhall in the Kennet Valley, Wiltshire, was in a sepsis ward two days after he waded into the River Kennet.
The quality of the river, one of Wiltshire’s rare chalk streams, has been criticised in recent months, with Action for the River Kennet discovering untreated sewage flowing into the river at three points in Marlborough.
Thames Water said that pollutants could get into rivers in other ways and it was investing in sewage treatment works across the Thames Valley.
Pepper believes that he was infected by sewage from a treatment works upstream. He he grazed his foot on gravel and “woke up with a dippy tummy” the next day. “The vomiting got serious and suddenly I had the shakes,” he told BBC News. Pepper’s right leg became swollen and he was taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon. “I get confused because the next thing I remember was waking up in the sepsis ward,” he said.
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Sepsis is a medical emergency and if left untreated it can kill.
Pepper’s illness came months after schoolchildren had to abandon a day trip to the River Kennet when heavy rain led to a sewage discharge.
When asked about Pepper’s case, a Thames Water spokesman said: “Pollutants, animal faeces, along with run-off from farms can contribute to hazards. We have planned investment in our sewage treatment works across the Thames Valley.”
The Times’s Clean it Up campaign has been calling for tougher regulation to tackle pollution in rivers and seas by bringing forward targets for improving overflows discharging near sensitive sites. In September, Thames Water was one of 12 water companies ordered to refund customers because progress on sewage spills has been “too slow”.
In the same month, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the environmental watchdog, said the government, the Environment Agency and Ofwat, the water industry regulator, may have broken the law by failing to stem raw sewage dumping by water companies in England. The environment department and the regulator were given two months to dispute the conclusion and set out solutions.
Depending on how the government and regulators respond, the OEP could take the bodies to the High Court.
The Times is demanding faster action to improve the country’s waterways. Find out more about the Clean It Up campaign.
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