MPS question Southern Water bosses over sewage
MPS met with the bosses of Southern Water and the Environment Agency over sewage discharges into south coast rivers and oceans.
The meeting was chaired by Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, one of a number of Sussex MPS who attended in order to discuss government targets to reduce discharges from combined sewage overflows (CSOS) and water issues that are impacting their constituencies.
Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency CEO, told MPS that water quality in the UK is better than at any time since the Industrial Revolution,
and this is entirely due to regulation introduced in the last 10 years under the Conservative Government. However, there is still much work to be done to end CSO discharges and monitor every discharge into waterways and the sea. The MPS said they would not be happy until there were no pollution incidents. They were clear that monitoring and enforcement of water companies to hold them to account is paramount.
Rt Hon Gillian Keegan, MP for Chichester, said: ‘This is a huge, cross-mp, cross-area issue, and there's still a long way for Southern Water to go before we're in a place that we're happy with.
‘We aren't there yet, but meetings like these are a really important way of keeping
the channels open and continuing to keep the pressure on.’
Rt Hon Nick Gibb, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, added: ‘In seaside
towns and villages, there are few things more important than ensuring that the sea water is clean, for both residents and for visitors.
‘The Environment Agency and Southern Water need to leave no stone unturned in minimising and ultimately eliminating storm water overflows that lead to untreated wastewater discharges.’
Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs, said: ‘Residents are rightly concerned about the health of our rivers but we must not confuse new data with it being a new problem. The truth is the issue has been there for many decades and it is this Government that is finally doing something about it. Southern Water and the Environment agency were left under no illusion how important it is that they act.’