top of page

Southern Water summit wins commitment on tackling threats to Sussex harbours

by Trevor Loveday

Southern Water has rallied national and local organisations to commit to a programme to tackle pollution threats to the resources at two Sussex harbours.


The water company said the 16 participating entities at its recent Save Our Harbours Summit “have committed to an evidence-led way forward,” adding: “The summit builds on and further strengthens existing partnerships and projects.”


Chair of the summit, Professor Sir Dieter Helm, said "The status quo is unsustainable and therefore it will not be sustained. This is the chance to grasp the prize of a greatly enhanced natural capital of the harbours with all the multiple benefits this will bring - and it can only be achieved in an integrated way, with all the parties joining together in a comprehensive natural capital plan."


Chief executive of Southern Water, Ian McAulay, said: "While only a first step, this commitment is none the less an important one. The South East is one of the most water stressed regions in Europe and a collective effort is urgently needed to tackle the issue of pollution and protect precious natural habitats."


Southern Water’s investment programme includes £13 million to improve instrumentation and data capture to reduce the risk to the environment from storm overflows, including the one at Budds Farm, which releases into Langstone Harbour. It has recently announced a new £5m environmental improvement fund with a proportion “to be invested with partners on initiatives that deliver nature-based solutions and environment net-gain for both harbours.”

Comments


bottom of page