Government sets targets on waste water pollution
Water companies will face legally binding targets to cut sewage discharges into the UK's rivers, the Government has announced.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said the Government would introduce legislation to put plans to reduce stormoverflowsona'newlegal footing'.
In a written statement to
Parliament,MsCoffeysaid:'We are announcing plans to enshrine the plan further in law. We will legislate for a clear target on storm overflow reduction in line with our plan.
'Aclear,credibleandcosted legally binding target will add to our transparent and determinedapproachtosolvethisissue, whilst keeping consumer bills low.'
The Government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in August 2022,aimstoeliminatesewage dumpingby2050whilecutting dischargescloseto'highpriority' areas by 75% by 2035 and 100% by 2045.
Ms Coffey said: 'I have been unequivocal on this issue. Watercompaniesneedtocleanup theiract-andtheyneedtocover the costs.
'But the hard truth is that however much we all want to see this fixed immediately, the scale and complexity means thereisnowaythatwecanstop pollutionovernight.Tosuggest otherwise is dishonest.
'I am using the full force of my powers to make sure that we stop the damage caused by storm overflows as quickly as possible.’
The debate comes after Labour analysis of Environment Agency statistics suggested sewagewasdumpedeverytwoand-a-half minutes on average since 2016.
Rivers, lakes, seas and beaches faced a staggering 1,276 years' worth of raw sewage over just a seven-year period, according to Labour.