There is rightfully much concern in Britain over pollution within our seas, lakes and rivers. Nevertheless, it is also fair to say that great strides forward have been made in recent decades.
The last Labour UK Government were successfully taken to court by the EU for failing to tackle sewage discharges. At that time, there were fewer designated ‘bathing waters’ than now and only about 50% were deemed to have excellent status. This is now up to 72%, with overall about 93% being excellent or good.
I recently visited the Combined Sewer Outflow (CSO) by Marine Lake in Rhyl to see renewal works taking place. It is easy to forget that until that was built in the 1990s, raw sewage was pumped from Rhyl into the sea daily. Now it is an incredibly rare occurrence, with release of very diluted overflow taking place at times of very heavy rainfall perhaps three times a year. These days, Central Beach in Prestatyn proudly flies a Blue Flag while Rhyl Central and East hold Seaside Awards. These awards are in part dependent on water quality. A Blue Flag indicates ‘excellent’ water quality.
I have taken a keen interest in the continued improvement of our local environment for many years, as a Trustee of Prestatyn Environment Association, as a member of the National Trust and through numerous other means. Some years ago, I was pleased to pledge my support the following Bill: https://www.philipdunne.com/sewagebill.
There has been recent increased national debate over water pollution, regrettably alongside a great deal of party political noise and much inaccurate reporting. The UK Government’s Environment Act 2021 has triggered much of this, through its requirement for the mandatory monitoring of Combined Sewer Outflow discharges in England. By the end of 2023, 100% of storm overflows will be being monitored. The data arising from this increased monitoring has raised awareness of the issue and caused understandable anger. A greater number of extreme events of heavy rainfall, along with a growing population, have also contributed.
It is important to note that at no stage have any MPs voted to weaken existing sewage discharge legislation.
The Environment Act, which I was pleased to support, was brought forward to improve environmental protections, largely in England. Included were a number of provisions to further improve water quality. Fully-costed and robust targets in England require water companies to make the largest infrastructure investment in history (£56bn over the next 25 years) to increase the capacity of storage tanks and reduce overflow discharges. The Government has announced that it will be setting its targets into law, ensuring they are deliverable and cost-effective for bill-payers.
In early April 2023, the Government announced accelerated investment in infrastructure upgrades to eliminate 10,000 discharges a year by 2025. Monitoring required under the Environment Act will be used to measure water companies’ progress to achieving the targets as set out in the following reduction plan:
- By 2035, the environmental impacts of 75% of storm overflows affecting the most important protected environmental sites will have been eliminated;
- By 2035, there will be 70% fewer discharges into bathing waters;
- By 2040, approximately 160,000 discharges, on average, will have been eliminated; and by 2050, approximately 320,000 discharges, on average, will have been eliminated;
Overflows that are causing the most harm will be addressed first to make the biggest difference as quickly as possible, and water companies will be expected to consider nature-based solutions in their planning.
In mid-May 2023, water companies in England announced “readiness to invest an additional £10 billion this decade” to cut sewage overflows. This will fund new storm tanks, replace concrete with grass, expand treatment works and enlarge sewer pipes. There will also be “a new national environmental hub” with real-time data.
The Environment Act means that water companies will be legally required to provide near real time information on the operation of storm overflows and publish data annually on their operation, as well as monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of storm overflows.
The Government intends to review its plan in 2027 to consider both where it is possible to go further, taking account of innovation and efficiencies, and how the programme is impacting upon bills.
In Wales, environmental issues have been devolved since 1999. The Labour Welsh Government has not yet introduced, nor announced their intention to, create legislation relating to storm overflows.
In 2022, the average frequency of discharges under the Labour administration in Wales (38 per overflow per year) was notably higher than in England (22). Wales has four times as many sewage discharges proportionately than England, and of the longest sewage discharges in Britain in 2022, the top two were in Wales. Sewage spills into Welsh waters account for 25% of all discharges across England & Wales, with six of the UK’s top 20 most polluted rivers across being in Wales.
I am pleased that the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee has been scrutinising the unacceptable situation in Wales: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7260/water-quality-in-wales/publications.
Further to the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (England), some have argued for yet more stringent targets but these would either involve instead allowing sewage to flow back into people’s homes and streets in times of inundation, or an estimated tripling of the average water bill (an additional £800 per bill per family per year) to dig up and replace combined sewer systems even more rapidly.
Much of our sewage and drainage system was built in Victorian times. Surface water from roof drainpipes and road gullies is often still channelled into the system alongside waste water and sewage from households and businesses.
This runs into treatment plants and is purified, before being released safely into watercourses. However, when there is very heavy rain, too much water can enter the system and pressure builds. If the pressure reaches a certain level, this mixture of rain water and sewage would simply flow back up the pipes and flood people’s homes, roads and gardens. As a result, storm discharges of waste water (albeit diluted) must on occasions be released into rivers and the sea.
It is estimated that to dig up much of our national sewer pipe system so as to separate foul waste from surface water will cost nearly £600 billion – potentially double the catastrophic cost of the pandemic. This is based on a full report published by the Government which details what it would take to end overflow use. It will mean separating all remaining combined pipes – enough new piping to stretch two and a half times around the world – in order to keep rainwater out of the wastewater system. This issue therefore requires far more consideration than a simple nod through Parliament. The Government cannot place a duty on water companies amounting to signing a blank cheque on behalf of customers, nor can it make logistically undeliverable promises.
There have been some examples of water companies discharging at times when there has been no stormy weather and it is very welcome that Ofwat is now taking a much firmer stance, holding water companies to account by conducting criminal and civil investigations. The Government has proposed unlimited financial penalties, with a wider scope, which are then ringfenced for environmental projects via the new ‘Water Restoration Fund’. It is also linking payments received by water companies to environmental and service performance and is increasing inspections at water companies’ own expense.
It is important to remember that the water companies’ CSOs contribute to only an estimated 20-30% of pollution in our waterways – with the majority of pollution arising from the run-off of contaminated water from fields into rivers.
The UK Government is addressing each of the multiple pressures and sources of pollution on our water bodies. This includes a ban, subject to consultation, on the sale of wet wipes containing plastic, developing new proposals to restrict the use of ‘forever’ chemicals (PFAS), and more than doubling the money for slurry grant infrastructure for farmers to £34 million. It has also taken action to tackle micro and single use plastics, which plague our oceans.
SUMMARY OF UK GOVERNMENT ACTION IN ENGLAND
On enforcement
- Where water and sewerage companies are found to be breaking the law, we will not hesitate to use all options for robust enforcement action. This can include criminal prosecution by the Environment Agency for which there can be unlimited fines.
- Since 2015, the Environment Agency have concluded 58 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies securing fines of over £142m.
- Fines will be paid solely from the company’s operating profits, not from billpayers.
- The government is also making it easier for regulators to enforce larger fines and hold water companies to account – with a consultation to launch this Spring.
- The EA and Ofwat are currently carrying out the largest criminal and civil investigations into water companies, at over 2200 treatment works, as a result of increased monitoring driven by this Government.
On monitoring and improvements
- Through the Environment Act, we are improving transparency by requiring companies to make discharge data available in near real time to the public and monitor water quality upstream and downstream of their assets
- This Government has significantly driven up monitoring and transparency from water companies in recent years, so that everyone can see what is going on. This includes:
- Event Duration Monitoring: This measures how often and for how long storm overflows are used. The number of storm overflows monitored across the network has increased from 7% under Labour in 2010 to almost 90% now monitored, and we will reach 100% cover by the end of the year. All the data is published online.
- Flow-to-full treatment: We have also asked companies to install new flow monitors on more than 2,000 wastewater treatment works to identify what is happening at those works during the sewage treatment process itself. This has led to a major investigation, announced in November 2021, with the EA requesting more detailed data from all wastewater treatment works.
- For 2020 to 2025 water companies are investing £7.1 billion to protect and improve the environment. This includes £3.1 billion invested in storm overflow improvements specifically (approximately 800 improvements to storm overflows taking place now), of which £1.9 billion has been invested in Thames Tideway Tunnel super sewer.
- Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan balances ambition and pace with impact on consumer bills. The Government has introduced a review point on target timelines in 2027, so if we can go further and faster we will, while balancing impacts on bill payers.
- We have set strict new targets on water companies – designed to frontload action in particularly important areas, such as bathing waters. Overflows that are causing the most harm will be addressed first to make the biggest difference as quickly as possible.
- The Secretary of State asked water and sewerage companies to set an action plan on every storm overflow in England, prioritising those that are spilling more than a certain number of times a year, and those spilling into bathing waters and high priority nature sites and announced water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.
