Raw sewage was released into open water in south east London several times in 2022, figures show.

Greenwich was found to have used the most amount of storm overflows in south east London, with a total discharge time of 509 hours.

In comparison, Lewisham was found to have used the least amount of storm overflows, with a total discharge of nine hours.

Storm overflows normally happen when the sewage system is at risk of being overwhelmed – such as after a heavy rain, or during higher levels of groundwater.

In these cases, water companies may need to release excess water and sewage into rivers and the sea, to prevent water backing up into the streets and people's homes.

This has an impact on the quality of our natural water sources, with some charities alleging storm overflows are being misused and under-reported.

Below is the figures from the Environment Agency which show the number of storm overflows used in each south east London borough in 2022.

Bexley: Six times, discharging for a total of around 55 hours.

All of these spills were from Thames Water's network.

Bromley: 40 times, discharging for a total of around 111 hours.

All of these spills were from Thames Water's network.

Dartford: Nine times, discharging for a total of around 59 hours.

Of these, eight were from Thames Water's network, while one was from facilities operated by Southern Water.

Greenwich: 93 times, discharging for a total of around 509 hours.

All of these spills were from Thames Water's network.

Lewisham: Five times, discharging for a total of around nine hours.

All of these spills were from Thames Water's network.

These figures may not provide a full picture of the amount of water pollution in the area – some south east London boroughs may also be impacted by overspills from areas it shares water sources with.

The Rivers Trust said it was particularly concerned by storm overflows being used during hot periods – a risk as England faces a heatwave this week.

Tessa Wardley, director of communications and advocacy at the charity, said: "Discharging untreated sewage in dry weather is bad for both human health and river health – lower river flows mean more concentrated pollutants at a time when more people want to enjoy their rivers."

"Although a problem in their own right, these discharges are also the ‘canary in the coalmine’ pointing to greater problems in our sewerage and river systems. This could be blockages in the system, groundwater seeping into broken pipes, misconnections, or just poor management choices," she added.

She urged "robust, urgent action" on sewage and river management to help tackle the climate crisis and threats to biodiversity.

Thames Water saw 8,014 overspills across its network in 2022 – although 39% of the company's facilities did not report overspill data last year.

In total there were more than 300,000 overspills across England in 2022 – a 19% reduction on more than 370,000 in 2021, although this may have been the product of weather conditions rather than improved infrastructure.

Water minister Rebecca Pow said the amount of sewage pumped into rivers is "utterly unacceptable", adding the Government has a plan to tackle pollution.

She said: "Targets set by the Government to reduce storm overflows are very strict and are leading to the largest infrastructure programme in water company history – £56 billion over the next 25 years.

"Shortly, water companies will also publish action plans for every storm overflow in England, something the Environment Secretary has personally pressed for," she said.