Thames Water dumped untreated sewage into rivers around Oxford for more than 68,000 hours according to a report by Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign. It was dumped into the Thames and its tributaries including the Windrush, Evenlode and Thame on 5,028 occasions in 2021. All ten large treatment plants in the area were unable to treat the full capacity of sewage for 1.1 million people. All ten works discharged sewage into rivers last year for an average of 11 hours per week.
Sewage can be released into rivers when heavy rainfall risks the system being overwhelmed and sewage backing up into homes. However water companies did this 40,000 times in 2020, including on many thousands of occasions when there had been very little rain.
All three candidates in the election on 5 May for a new district councillor for the Burford ward have pledged to fight for the Windrush to be cleaned up.