article_snippet.sent: Here, a discharge pipe dumps raw sewage into a river .
article_snippet.sent: It’s estimated that around five per cent of homes in the UK have pipes that are misconnected, causing pipes that are misconnected to leak sewage.
article_snippet.sent: Professor David Lerner, who led the study at the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering, explained: ‘More than a million homes have More than a million homes waste water incorrectly connected into the surface water network, which means More than a million homes sewage is being discharged into a river, rather than going to a treatment plant.
article_snippet.sent: A visual inspection in one area immediately revealed a house where both a sink and soil stack were connected to the wrong sewer, according to the results of the study, which were published in Water and Environment Journal.
article_snippet.sent: This image shows a 'scum' caused by detergent in the Peak District National Park .
article_snippet.sent: Professor Lerner said: ‘Often the only way to be sure a house is misconnected is through a dye test - putting dye down a sink or toilet and seeing where the coloured water appears in the wrong sewer.
article_snippet.sent: Pollutants found in domestic waste water change the bacterial and invertebrate life in rivers, encouraging pollutant tolerant species and leading to the build-up of 'sewage fungus', which is visible as a grey lining to the river bed.
article_snippet.sent: Waste water discharges can also carry pathogens such as norovirus.
article_snippet.sent: Most misconnected households are unaware Most misconnected households are discharging Most misconnected households waste water into the wrong system and - once the wrong system has been identified - immediately rectify the problem.
highlights_snippet.sent: Innovation could stop sewage being accidently shunted into rivers .