Rivers, lakes and seas are vital for sustaining life on earth. But as recent headlines will have told you, there is growing concern about their health, due in no small part to the use of storm overflows. These act like pressure release valves and divert excess wastewater to outfalls during heavy rain to stop it flooding into our streets and homes. But how do storm overflows work? How do we limit their use? And what’s being done to conserve the health of our precious bodies of water? In this Decomplicated special, the Independent has teamed up with Wessex Water to try and unravel this complex issue and shed some light on what the future of water management might look like.