Many constituents have contacted me about sewage in our waterways following the votes on the Environment Bill last week. Sadly there has been a fair bit of misinformation circulating on social media about it which has understandably concerned a lot of people. So I’ve set out here what the Government is doing to tackle sewage in our rivers and what I am fighting for locally on sewage flooding.
Sewage discharge from storm overflows into our rivers is disgusting and needs to be stopped, not just nationally but particularly for our river constituency. That is why I am pleased that the Government is bringing forward many measures to tackle this within in the Environment Bill. Given our current sewage infrastructure and the use of storm overflows at present this is a very difficult task but a challenge which we must rise to. Our local rivers are precious and used and enjoyed by many from Addlestone Canoe club on the Wey, our various rowing clubs on the Thames, swimming by Chertsey Meads, or those who live and walk alongside them. I particularly love walking along the Wey and Bourne and believe we must ensure that our waterways stay lovely and clean and can be used by everyone.
Storm overflows are designed for use during extreme weather and prevent sewers becoming overloaded with a combination of sewage and rainwater. They have been a source of anger and outrage for decades and the situation has only gotten worse with climate change leading to increased rainfall and water infrastructure not keeping pace with development growth over decades. Unfortunately, at present they are necessary, without them in extreme weather there would be backflow of sewage into people’s houses (something that I am also trying to tackle locally as outlined below).
So, what’s the plan? Having supported a previous Private Members Bill on the issue of storm overflows, I am pleased that the Environment Bill will also now contain new provisions on storm overflows which were at the heart of the Private Members Bill by placing:
- a duty on government to publish a plan by September 2022 to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows
- a duty to report regularly to Parliament on progress on implementing the plan
- and a duty on water companies to publish data annually on storm overflow operation
The challenge is that stopping the use of these overflows outright will require a major change to sewage infrastructure in every town and city and as our sewer network is vast and very old this will be a very expensive endeavour. The cost of a national infrastructure project to replace them is currently estimated to be at least £150 billion and possibly up to £650 billion. The range is so great as the work has not been done to properly cost it. This is an absolutely enormous amount of money and it would have to come from somewhere, ultimately taxpayers. It would cost the average household between £5,000 and £20,000 – an unthinkable amount to pay in either higher taxes or higher bills. It also won’t prioritise the infrastructure on where is most in need, such as rivers and lakes that people use for leisure, like ours. It may also be counterproductive as forcing water companies to block off storm overflows without the necessary infrastructure improvements could lead to more sewage flooding in homes and streets (see below).
So this is why the requirement in the Environment Bill for the Government to publish a detailed plan is so very important. This plan will also include consideration of eliminating storm overflows entirely and how it can actually be achieved in practice including all the costs and benefits - which is sorely needed to drive things forward!
In addition, there are new measures in the Environment Bill requiring water companies to monitor the water quality impacts of their sewage discharges and to publish this information, with the Secretary of State able to make regulations in response. This will ensure water companies reduce sewage discharges that cause the most harm to the environment and public health. Water companies will also need to publish near real-time information on when their storm overflows operate.
Regarding the Lords amendment to the Environment Bill to ban outright sewage discharges. Unfortunately, while I agree with the sentiment, in practice it contained no plan regarding how to deliver this or mitigate the enormous costs and consequences outlined above. To have supported it would be irresponsible law-making when a clear plan and strategy and proper understanding of costings are needed to tackle the issue. Victorian plumbing has lasted 200 years due to the best planning and engineering, and bold and innovative decisions made by the leaders of the day. This is the vision we must seek to emulate so we can deliver the solution for the next century at least. Provisions to set this up are now in the Environment Bill, as explained above, and are the right way to take this forward to deliver the modern infrastructure needed and clean our rivers and stop sewage discharges.
This will of course take time, and therefore in the meantime, in place of the Lords amendment the Government has now put forward an amendment for water companies to ‘secure a reduction in the impact of sewage discharges’. This strengthens in law the guidance already set out to companies by the Government and will mean they will focus on mitigating the storm overflows that will have the most impact. Once this is in law, I will be writing to Thames Water calling for a meeting to discuss how they will identify priority areas and deliver these improvements. Given the extensive use of rivers and waterways in Runnymede and Weybridge and our liability for flooding, I would expect our local waterways to be a priority within this plan.
In terms of provisions we already have, all discharges by a water company requires a permit issued by the Environment Agency. These permits include necessary conditions which ensure discharges only occur under strict permitted conditions. Where discharges occur outside of these conditions, the Environment Agency investigates and takes appropriate action, which includes enforcement action if necessary. This action has resulted in more than 48 prosecutions against water companies in the last six years.
Sewage flooding is an area of particular focus for me as during and after heavy or prolonged rainfall, or if the groundwater table is high, the capacity of combined sewer systems can be exceeded causing sewage to come up out of people's toilets or onto the street and people's gardens. As much of Runnymede and Weybridge is located on flood plain, this has been experienced by residents locally too many times in various roads and streets across the constituency. I recently held a meeting with the water companies, local authorities, and affected residents in one area of my constituency to hold the companies to account and work get the problems fixed. I am continuing to push our water companies to deliver local solutions where persistent problems have been identified. If you have been a victim of sewage flooding and haven't reached out to me already - please email me at [email protected] and I can update you further on the specifics.
Flooding and flood related issues is one of my top priorities in my constituency and I have also been working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Surrey County Council, Runnymede Borough Council, utility companies and residents’ groups to address issues of surface water flooding, permitted development on flood plain, and issues around flood insurance. I have also previously written to the Environment Agency regarding the work they are doing to ensure they maintain great local water quality in our local rivers. You can see more about the work I am doing on all this here:
https://www.drbenspencer.org.uk/campaigns/better-protection-flooding
In summary, we need drainage infrastructure fit for the 21st century and beyond, and the measures contained in the Environment Bill will ensure we have the information and plan needed to deliver this. This is a huge and long-term project, but I will continue to work on behalf of residents to deliver both the national and local improvements we need to protect our homes, rivers, lakes, and streams.
