West Sussex MP welcomes action for clean water

The data from the 100% monitoring helps the government and regulators to better hold water companies to account for illegal sewage spills. Together with plans for more investment and polluters now facing unlimited financial penalties this is the toughest ever action to clean our rivers.

In 2010, just 7% of storm overflows had monitors fitted meaning that a decades-long problem was just as present but was hidden from view.

Andrew said:

“As a businessman for 25 years before entering politics I know the importance of data in holding firms to account. The news that every single storm overflow across the Rivers Arun, Adur and Rother is now monitored 24 hours a day is a huge step towards the cleaner rivers I want to see. For Southern Water there is now no hiding place.”

Full details of the Government’s announcement may be found here: www.gov.uk/government/news/storm-overflows-monitoring-hits-100-target

Notes:

Storm overflows are an automatic safety valve that release excess pressure on the network from flooding and heavy rain – preventing sewage backing up into properties and stopping widespread mains pipe bursts across the country. They should, however, only be used under strict permit conditions. Increased monitoring will give government and regulators the information they need to take action when permits are breached.

This step is just one of many ambitious actions set out under the Governments ‘Plan for Water’, which is delivering more investment, stronger regulation, and tougher enforcement across the water system.

This increased transparency will allow the Environment Agency to better tackle illegal discharges from storm overflows. We are dedicated to investigating those that breach their strict permitting conditions.

As well as the expansion of EDMs, the Government has taken significant action throughout 2023 to boost water quality and resilience and hold polluters accountable for environmental damage.

As part of our Plan for Water, over £2.2 billion of new, accelerated investment is being directed into vital infrastructure to improve water quality and secure future supplies, with £1.7bn of this being used to tackle storm overflows to cut over 10,000 discharges.

This builds on stringent targets on water companies to reduce storm overflows, outlined in our Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan – driving the largest infrastructure programme in water company history of £60 billion over 25 years. This will result in hundreds of thousands fewer sewage discharges every year by 2050. The Plan frontloads action in particularly important and sensitive areas including designated bathing waters, meaning the overflows causing the most harm will be addressed first to minimise impact.

Polluters now face unlimited financial penalties for breaching permits and polluting the environment thanks to changes to Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs), which are civil sanctions issued by the Environment Agency. The move is designed to offer a more rapid form of punishment compared to criminal prosecution.