This is the best summary I could come up with:
Along the river's banks are a series of sewage treatment plants with storm water overflows (SWO) which can be used when capacity is exceeded during heavy rainfall, especially if dry ground cannot quickly absorb large quantities of water.Water companies are allowed to release a limited amount of sewage during periods of excess rain, but there is also evidence of "dry spills", which can damage the local environment and pose a health risk to swimmers.Environment Agency figures, external show that last year four treatment plants, at South Brent, Diptford, Moreleigh and Aveton Gifford, discharged sewage into the river 397 times for a total of 4,678 hours.
"We are entering the summer, it's going to get very busy here and the impact of pollution is not only on the environment, but on the people working here, making a living from outdoors activities," he said.
"Testing of water quality by the Environment Agency currently runs from May to September.Mr Doison thinks there should be year-round monitoring and faster reports of pollution, which he says can take a week to appear.
"We were one of the first water companies to have all our storm overflows monitored meaning we know exactly what is happening, when and where, allowing us to target investment and make changes where it matters most.
Sewage pollution of our rivers and seas has given rise to one of the most bitter and impassioned political debates of recent months.The Conservatives say they’ve done more than any previous government to tackle the problem – and we are more aware of pollution incidents now because monitoring has massively increased under their watch.Opposition parties say the situation is getting worse and the Conservatives should have gone further and faster.Labour says it would give the water regulator Ofwat powers to block bonuses for the bosses of water companies who cause illegal pollution, while those who oversee repeated law-breaking will face criminal charges.Companies would be forced to monitor every single water outlet under independent supervision.The Conservative manifesto says they will work with the regulator to further hold companies to account, including banning executive bonuses if a company has committed a serious criminal breach.They say this builds on their decision to allow unlimited fines for illegal pollution incidents.Fines from water companies will be re-invested in river restoration projects.The Liberal Democrat manifesto promises to introduce a Sewage Tax on water company profits and to enforce existing laws to ensure that the storm overflows only function in exceptional circumstances.The Lib Dems also say they would set legally binding targets to prevent sewage dumping into bathing waters and highly sensitive nature sites by 2030.The Green Party manifesto pledges to “end the scandal of sewage pouring into our rivers and seas by taking the water companies back into public ownership”.
You can use the BBC News lookup tool to find out which constituency you are in, who is standing as a candidate in your area and which polling station you can vote at.
The original article contains 1,170 words, the summary contains 491 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!