Water and sewage companies in England apologise for sewage spills and launch a transformation programme.
Ruth Kelly, Chair of Water UK, a membership body representing the water industry, said: “The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry.
“More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches.
“We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right.
“This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see.”
£10 billion – more than triple current levels – is ready to be invested in a new National Overflows Plan.
This major programme to reduce spills into rivers and seas will initiate the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era.
Commitments
Today (18 May) sees water companies’ state their readiness to invest an additional £10 billion this decade. This will more than triple (and add to) the current levels of investment of £3.1bn 2020-25.
If approved by Ofwat, the water industry regulators, it is expected that, by 2030, this initial wave of investment across 350,000 miles of sewer will cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year compared to the level in 2020.
This investment will allow water companies across the country to:
Install the equivalent of thousands of new Olympic swimming pools to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system;
Increase the capacity of sewage treatment works, allowing them to treat higher volumes of rainfall and sewage;
Replace concrete with grass and ponds to reduce rainfall run-off entering sewers, protecting them against the overloading that causes spills;
Treat overflow spills so they have much less impact on the river, including through reed beds, wetlands and other nature-friendly projects; and
Improve the sewer network by enlarging and improving pipes, allowing them to safely carry more sewage during peak times, and fixing misconnected pipes from properties.
CEO at Westcountry Rivers Trust Dr Laurence Couldrick said: “This is great news for our rivers but it’s disappointing it has taken a public outcry to force the issue to drag our sewerage system into the 21st Century, rather than proactively upgrading over the past 20 years.
“Despite this much needed investment it will still not solve the issues our rivers face from pollution and industry (both past and present) so this is just the start.”
The detailed National Overflows Plan will be published later this summer, explaining each companies’ approach to improving their overflows.
This will include when improvements can be expected, and (as projects are developed) how improvements will be delivered and the expected results.
There is however, the potential for the costs to mean higher bills. In an iNews article, Water UK said the upfront costs would be paid by companies and recouped only over the very long-term, with the exact level that falls on customers set by the regulator.
More transparency to improve accountability
Water and sewage companies will collaborate on creating, by this time next year, a new independently-overseen National Environment Data Hub.
For the first time, people will be able to access near real-time (within the hour) information on all 15,000 overflows in the country, as well as the state of our rivers and coastal waters.
It will increase transparency, enabling the public to hold companies to account, track their progress and empower swimmers and others with the information they need.
In addition, as thousands of new river quality monitors come online (planned to be installed from 2025 onwards), this additional data will also be added to the Hub to let people see the real-world impact on rivers.
Dr Couldrick added: “Communities up and down the country need to monitor, understand and highlight the pollution our rivers suffer from and keep pressure on society to change.
“Not only does our charity help to manage the problems in our region, our flagship Westcountry Citizen Science Investigation scheme has been supporting people and communities to monitor their freshwater environments since 2016.
“This provides us with vital insight into the health of our rivers and we are continually developing these volunteering opportunities as we need your help to force the changes we all need.”
Supporting new bathing rivers
Each water and sewage company in England will also support the roll-out of new river swimming areas, by providing help to up to 100 communities in drawing up plans, applying for legal protection, covering the costs of pre-submission water testing and working with regulators to fix local sources of pollution.
Industry will also develop guidance and toolkits and support citizen scientists to help local groups navigate what can be a burdensome process.
Notes
Water UK is a membership body representing the water industry. Its members include all water and wastewater companies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Within England, Water UK’s members comprise companies that only provide water (WOCs or Water Only Companies) and those that provide both water and sewage services (WASCs).