DODGY plumbing may be causing sewage to run into one of the district's rivers.

Misconnections occur when foul and surface water systems are incorrectly fed into one another.

For example, if the foul water drain is connected to the surface water drain, then waste water can travel untreated directly into rivers, where its affect on wildlife can be devastating.

Across the country 15 per cent of rivers and 9 per cent of beaches are failing water quality standards, with analysis suggesting the River Roding which runs between Loughton and Chigwell may be particularly susceptible to pollution from misconnections.

In a report to be put before the council next week, environment portfolio holder Will Breare-Hall wrote: "Working in conjunction with the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership, the Engineering Drainage and Water Team have designed a small campaign to raise awareness of the issue of misconnections within the District.

"This initial campaign involves distributing upwards of 500 leaflets and letters to houses within the river’s catchment.

"The objective is to highlight the negative impact misconnected pipes are having within our district and to encourage residents to work collaboratively with the Council in an effort to tackle pollution together."