Last week, Parliament voted on Lords Amendments to the Environment Bill. Much has been made in the media and by activists that Conservative MPs voted to pour sewage into our rivers. However, much of the information that has been put out there, by so-called ‘news websites’ is factually incorrect.
Currently, our sewage and drainage systems date back to the Victorian times. Rainwater is channelled into these systems, alongside waste water and sewage from our homes and businesses. The majority of the time, this is channelled into purification plants, cleaned, and then it flows back into our rivers systems.
When there is heavy rainfall, too much water enters the system and water pressure builds. Once this reaches a certain level, if not dealt with, a mixture of rainwater and sewage would flow back up the pipes and flood into our homes and streets. This cannot, for obvious reasons, be allowed to happen. As a result, the water companies ease the pressure by releasing untreated wastewater directly into the river systems. This is diluted because it only happens when mixed with heavy rainfall.
This has always been the case. Last week’s vote hasn’t authorised or begun this practice - it has happened for years and years. It has become more common due to more extreme weather and increased population size causing extra pressure on the sewage system.
The Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow MP, explained that the cost of measures to stop this practice would be potentially huge, and current estimates are wide ranging. She said:
As an approximate estimate, to get rid of or eliminate storm sewage overflows would cost between – these are very wide figures – £150 billion - £600 billion. One must consider the cost of bills, because there will be an impact on those.’
Everyone can agree that something needs to be done. I agree that something needs to be done. But first, the questions of who will pay, when, and how much need to be answered. Our Victoria sewage system cannot be replaced overnight.
What the Environment Bill actually does in this area, is as follows:
- A new requirement on the Government to produce a plan to reduce sewage discharges
- A new duty for water companies in England to publish near real-time information on sewage discharges and produce comprehensive Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans.
- Water companies will be required to monitor water quality both upstream and downstream of the discharge.
- The Government is to publish a report by 1 September 2022 setting out the actions required to achieve eliminate of sewage discharge and the cost and benefits of doing so.
In short, the Government is taking action to deal with this issue. However, it could not agree to the vote in Parliament last week which would have put an un-costed ban on all sewage discharges. To do this would be irresponsible and almost certainly would be unachievable and unenforceable.