As a firm supporter of the fishing community, a wild swimmer, a conservationist and a part-time angler, I have been horrified to see our sewage systems overwhelmed by high rainfall, resulting in raw effluent flowing into our waterways and on to our beaches. I share the disappointment of many local residents that South West Water is one of the water companies which has been investigated by Ofwat over its management of wastewater.
However, for the first time in thirty years, we now have the legislation in place to deal with our archaic sewage system while also holding water companies to account. The Environment Act 2021 addresses the issues of sewage in the following ways:
- All water companies must produce a plan stating how they will develop and improve their drainage and sewerage systems
- The Government is now able to force water companies to act if their Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans are not good enough
- There is a new duty on the Government to produce a statutory plan to reduce discharges from storm overflows and their adverse impact, and report to Parliament on progress
- There is a new requirement on water companies and the Environment Agency to publish data on storm overflow operations on an annual basis
- There is a new duty for water companies to publish near real time information on the operation of storm overflows
Additionally, we have also announced that there is now no limit on the civil penalties that can be imposed on water companies. The Government also worked to find a solution that would hold water companies to account without making the consumer bear the brunt of the costs, including an amendment which now sees a duty enshrined in law to ensure water companies secure a progressive reduction in discharges from storm overflows.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has also set out plans for a consultation on a proposal for water company bosses to be banned from receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches.
Water companies have agreed to invest £7.1bn in environmental improvements in England, including £3.1bn on storm overflows. Furthermore, the new Environment Act requires water companies to produce a comprehensive Drainage and Sewerage Management Plan, which South West Water has now done. Their plan outlines how they intend to manage, develop and improve their sewage systems, including reducing storm overflows. This includes installing monitors at all storm overflow locations and undertaking investigations for all locations that spill more than 40 times a year. The company will also focus on reducing spills to an average of 20 a year – and even less for bathing water beaches and environmentally sensitive areas - by upgrading assets and improving infrastructure.
The Government also published a Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan in August 2022, providing costed details of how we can deliver these changes. This is coupled with the requirement for water companies and the Environment Agency to publish storm overflow data in real-time and to monitor water quality up and downstream.
It is more than understandable that residents continue to feel frustrated about these ongoing issues. However, I and fellow South West MPs are working to hold South West Water to account and hold regular meetings with the water company to discuss how they can go further and faster to ensure we have an improved sewage and drainage system. I also organised a series of open meetings with South West Water where local residents can address the water company and raise questions.