Storm Overflow Taskforce sets goal to eliminate harm from sewage spills

As parts of the country battled with flooding from Storm Christoph last week, Defra and its Storm Overflow Taskforce partners announced a new long term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows.

In other developments, water companies committed to increase transparency about the spills, including by publishing annual monitoring data on their websites about their use of storm overflows which the Environment Agency will compile into an annual report. Companies have committed to make real-time data on sewage discharges available at bathing sites all year round and to accelerate work to install monitoring devices to create a complete picture of their activity by 2023.

Environment secretary George Eustice also confirmed last week that the government will work with Ludlow MP Philip Dunne “on our shared ambitions to tackle sewage pollution in our rivers”. The Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill, introduced by Dunne to Parliament last year, had its first reading in February but its second reading expected this month has been delayed. Dunne responded: “I am delighted the minister has responded so quickly to Covid restrictions interrupting progress of my Private Members Bill by agreeing to work with me to develop measures to improve water quality across England.”

The Storm Overflows Taskforce was set up in August 2020 between Defra, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, CCW, Blueprint for Water and Water UK to accelerate progress on addressing sewage pollution of rivers in storms. Defra noted it would “continue to consider how the guidance given by the secretary of state to the regulator Ofwat can best reflect the importance of water quality in water companies’ activities”.

Emma Clancy, chief executive of CCW, commented: “Increasing transparency around the use of storm overflows is a welcome step but consumers will expect it to result in urgent action where pollution is jeopardising the health of our inland waters and the nature and people that enjoy or depend on them.

“Radical change to a complex sewer system will take time to deliver but water companies should now be looking to prioritise improvements in rivers and streams where the damage caused by the over dependence on storm overflows is already acute.”