Lords approve new water targets after call for greater ambition withdrawn

Labour peer Baroness Hayman of Ullock sought the following amendment to a motion for the House of Lords to approve the draft targets for water under the Environment Act, set out in December:

"At the end insert “but that this House regrets the lack of ambition and urgency contained in the Regulations; notes that in relation to the department’s consultation, an overwhelming majority of respondents supported more stringent targets than those in these Regulations; further notes that these targets must be considered in the context of the Environment Agency’s decision to postpone the deadline for improving the quality of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters to 2063; therefore calls on His Majesty’s government to bring forward revised targets by the end of 2023”.

Defra minister, Lord Benyon, battled the amendment. He said: “The targets we are setting are ambitious and will have significant impact. They will deliver tangible improvements to the water environment. We are going as far as we can as fast as we can, while balancing the costs to business and people’s lives and complying with the Environment Act.”

He added: “I absolutely reject the claim that existing deadlines for our commitments in the water framework directive regulations 2017 have been pushed back to 2063. The updated river basin management plans published by the Environment Agency set objectives for good ecological status by 2027 and are compliant with the water framework directive regulations 2017.”

Lord Benyon detailed the four new legally binding water targets. The two relating specifically to the water industry concern:

• a water demand target which aims to reduce water demand by 20% and

• reducing phosphorus from treated wastewater by 80%.

Lord Benyon said this was part of a wider programme to improve water company environmental performance, which also includes the £56bn storm overflow plan and universal overflow monitoring. He added: “Our amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will also contribute to the achievement of this target by requiring water companies to improve the performance of wastewater treatment works to the highest achievable technological levels for phosphorus in designated nutrient neutrality areas. Our approach balances ambition and significant changes that need to be made to meet our wider targets with impacts on customer bills.”

Following a debate, Baroness Hayman withdrew her amendment and the motion was agreed.