Water companies will face strict limits on when they can use storm overflows and must completely eliminate the ecological harm any storm sewage discharges cause to the environment and significantly reduce discharges to protect public health, under new plans unveiled by the Government today.
The Government plans to hold to account those companies who do not meet expectations, including a new monitoring and reporting framework as legislated for in the Environment Act, which will significantly improve the ability of both Ofwat and the Environment Agency to take enforcement action where needed.
Views are sought from the public on the targets as part of a suite of measures to be considered for the final Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, which will be published in September.
Cherilyn said:
“The amount of sewage discharged by water companies from storm overflows, including into the rivers and seas surrounding Falmouth, is unacceptable.
The Government have already been acting, with record-breaking fines for water companies, and I have been working directly with Ministers to go even further.
I am delighted that from 2025, the Government will launch the largest programme to tackle storm discharges in history. I will continue to work with Ministers to ensure these plans protect the environment and hold water companies to account. I encourage people to participate in the Government’s consultation to make sure their views contribute to solving this vital issue.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice said:
“We are the first Government to set out our expectation that water companies must take steps to significantly reduce storm overflows. Today, we are setting specific targets to ensure that those storm overflows are used only in exceptional circumstances – delivering on our Environment Act and building on wider work on water quality.”
You can find out more, and complete the consultation via the link below:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water-industry/storm-overflows-discharge-reduction-plan/