COUNCILLORS have joined the fight against sewage pollution by supporting a motion aiming to limit the amount of untreated waste entering Oxfordshire's rivers.

Oxfordshire County Council unanimously passed a motion proposed by Nicholas Field-Johnson, of Burford and Carterton North, at a meeting yesterday.

The motion highlighted the over use of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), which should only discharge untreated sewage into rivers in exceptional conditions.

Mr Field-Johnson said: "It appears that this has not been the case and these sewage overflows are used much more frequently."

The motion also stated that all but one of Oxfordshire's rivers are receiving treated effluent which is greatly inferior to that which is required for rivers in Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Mr Field-Johnson called for council leader Ian Hudspeth to write to Thames Water, the Environment Agency and Environment Minister Michael Gove about the issue.

Thames Water spokesman Michael Benke said: “Combined Sewer Overflows are used to ensure sewage does not back up into people’s homes, especially during periods of heavy rain.

“The use of CSOs is standard practice and is an approved method across the country for managing waste water. We use them in line with permits from the Environment Agency."