Updated: Woodbridge and Melton - Pollution Incidents 1st-4th September 2025
- Deben Climate Centre
- Sep 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 20
Our water samplers and testers have been out again this week and recorded significant pollution in the tidal Deben around Woodbridge and Melton. Their sampling on Monday evening picked up very high levels of E.coli from Deben Yacht Club up to Wilford Bridge. Further checking showed that there was a Storm Overflow spill from the Woodbridge Pumping Station on Monday 1st September lasting around 18 minutes at 13.42hrs. Taking account of the tide times, it looks like the pollution was pushed up with the incoming tide during the afternoon and then back as it turned around 6.00 pm. Our numbers do appear to suggest that the spill may have been longer than recorded or that there was another leak elsewhere which was unreported.
Here are the results showing E.coli levels up to 250 colonies per 1ml (25,000 per 100ml) - the “safe bathing” level is no more than 900 colonies per 100ml.
There was another Anglian Water Storm Overflow Spill today, Wednesday 3rd September, at Woodbridge at 06.23 hrs lasting 53 minutes. This will be affecting the river today and probably for at least 24 to 48 hours. We photographed the channel where the overflow comes out and it was still bubbling up at 9.25 a.m.
Both storm overflows appear to be a result of the heavy showers and rain over the past 3 days. However they indicate that these Anglian Water facilities may not be robust enough to stand the more lengthly periods of rain we can now expect as Autumn approaches.
Friday 5th Update:
Following the Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) issues in Woodbridge reported earlier, there was another one-hour CSO spill on Wednesday 3rd and a further one for 36 minutes on Thursday 4th from the Woodbridge pumping station. We sampled and tested again on Thursday 4th September at 5 locations and in some locations there was still significant sewage odour; our results from the latest sampling have just come in (Friday 5th morning) and they are shocking.
In the tidal flow, about 2 hours after high tide should have washed out the previous days pollution, we found above safe E.coli levels at the Tide Mill and at Deben Yacht Club, both popular with river users - as shown below Tide Mill came in at 25 colonies per 1ml and Deben Yacht Club at 11 colonies per 1ml (both above the safe bathing limit of 9 colonies per 1ml).
We sampled three known outfalls - two close to Woodbridge Station which are appear not to connected to the Anglian Water CSO. The other which has a direct connection to the Anglian Water CSO outfall is in a ditch running out within the Woodbridge Marina and showed extremely high levels of E.coil - over 1000 colonies per 1ml.
Saturday 20th Update:
Earlier this month, our samplers spotted a series of sewage spills in Melton and Woodbridge; we advised the Environment Agency and Anglian Water, asking for an explanation.The tidal section of the river was polluted for almost 3 days in that week. The prime source was the Woodbridge Quayside TPS (Pumping Station) that discharges into a ditch inside the Tide Mill Marina (our photo shows this location and the Marina ditch E.coli result).
After initially telling us that “these were due to heavy rainfall and so permitted”, Anglian Water local management referred the "Storm Overflow event" to their Water Recycling Team. On Thursday 18th September, they confirmed that "the length of discharge was proved to be around 3 hours, with a 2nd discharge of roughly 2 hours. This was due to a float, which we use to trigger our spills, that had become caught on the screen. This was found by one of our technicians and readjusted to resolve the issue".
We asked Environment Agency to investigate this “event” and it has now been referred to the Water Industry Regulation Team as It looks like the pollution incident may have breached Anglian Water’s permit.