December 2023
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about storm overflows.
My ministerial colleagues and I are clear that sewage in our rivers is unacceptable. The Government is committed to tackling storm overflows and protecting public health and the environment from discharges.
This is the first Government to take steps to address storm overflows. In August 2022, the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan was launched, setting out stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by up to £60 billion capital investment, which is the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. Legally binding through the Environment Act 2021, the plan prioritises storm overflows that could cause the most harm while balancing the impact on consumer bills.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will tighten permits issued to water companies for storm overflows to ensure water companies deliver the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan’s targets. Water companies must increase their network capacity and treat sewage before discharge, while massively reducing all discharges. The Secretary of State for Defra recently wrote to water companies, asking for further action at pace to tackle sewage discharges as a priority.
The Government, the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat are working to increase the accountability of water companies. This includes increasing monitoring the frequency and duration of discharges, from approximately 7 per cent in 2010 to 91 per cent now. In addition, the Government’s enhanced, world-leading monitoring programme, will require water companies to monitor and report, in near-real time, the impact that storm overflows and sewage treatment works have on water quality.
Finally, following a consultation on strengthening fines for polluters, the Government tabled legislation to remove the limit of £250,000 that can be imposed for environmental offences. This will mean that penalties can be proportionate to the degree of environmental harm and culpability and can act as a powerful deterrent. This will also offer regulators a quicker method of enforcement than lengthy criminal prosecutions, although I am aware that the most serious cases will continue to be taken through criminal proceedings. As set out in the Government’s Plan for Water, future environmental fines from water companies will be re-invested into a new Water Restoration Fund.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Best wishes,
Angela Richardson MP
Member of Parliament for Guildford, Cranleigh and our villages