Charity, Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) has submitted a formal complaint to the newly created watchdog for public bodies, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), against the failure of Ofwat and secretaries of state to enforce law on the sewage pollution of English rivers.
The complaint cited the Water Industry Act 1991’s requirement for water companies to “effectually deal” with sewage before discharging the effluent to rivers, except following periods of heavy rainfall which threaten back-flooding of sewers into properties.
S&TC argued Ofwat has failed to allow, and indeed require, water companies to invest in sewerage infrastructure and treatment works, leading to many English rivers receiving discharges of under-treated and untreated sewage even during dry weather.
It went on to cite 25 years of the Environment Agency failing to impose environmental permits that properly protect rivers, and then to monitor, inspect and enforce against those permits.
Guy Linley-Adams, solicitor for S&TC, said: “While the Government busies itself tabling amendments of its own Environment Bill, and pretends to be making huge concessions on sewage pollution, the truth of the matter is that it and successive governments have simply failed to use the enforcement powers in the Water Industry Act 1991 to require water companies to treat sewage to a decent standard.
“There has been an unhealthy conspiracy of silence between the Government, Ofwat and the Environment Agency over many years, driven by the political desire to keep water bills down, come what may, but that has occurred at the expense of the environment. The current furore about the quality of water in English rivers is the culmination of years of neglect and a wilful failure to enforce the law.”
S&TC is asking the OEP to investigate the whole issue, but particularly the activities of Ofwat in providing for water industry investment in sewerage infrastructure and treatment works capacity, and the secretary of state’s guidance to Ofwat.
MOSL appoints five to assess Market Improvement Fund bids
MOSL has appointed members of the independent Selection Committee that will assess bids to its new Market Improvement Fund. The members are:
• Zoe Burns-Shore, director of customer experience at Yorkshire Water.
• James Mackenzie, policy manager at CCW.
• Scott Nickolls, global head of business development at Beboc.
• Neil Pendle, managing director at Waterscan.
• Erin Zhang, senior consultant at Isle Utilities.
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