‘Help us avert environmental catastrophe’, trust pleads
Chichester Harbour Trust is calling on regulatory body Ofwat to use its legislative powers to put Southern Water into special administration, in order to avoid an environmental catastrophe.
And until the situation is resolved, the trust continues to call on Chichester District Council to put the Chichester Local Plan timetable on hold, saying it is impossible to go ahead in the circumstances.
The trust is concerned not enough is being done to improve water quality in the harbour, but is reassured that, after ten years of wastewater treatment issues, Chichester MP Gillian Keegan is now working on a collaborative approach towards a resolution.
John Nelson, chairman, said: “We all need to force the regulators to take immediate action before we have an environmental and public health catastrophe. Over the Christmas period, there were uninterrupted discharges into Chichester Harbour for six days. Given Southern Water’s record, the time has come to implement radical change. Nothing short of radical and accelerated action will avoid an environmental catastrophe.”
The trust is highlighting the issue as part of its campaign for a moratorium on any significant new development in the area and for the Chichester Local Plan timetable to be put on hold.
Mr Nelson explained: “Water quality and the lack of water treatment capacity provided by Southern Water is one of the harbour’s key concerns in relation to the local plan.
“This concern has been there for a number of years. Despite sanctions taken by the regulators, water quality has continued to deteriorate and therefore threats to public health are increasing.
“The good news is that, after much pressure from us and others, Chichester District Council at last now appear to be taking this more seriously.”
Thetrustbelievesurgentsteps need to be taken to substantially increase the water treatment capacity or in the short term to provide emergency diversion for raw sewage.
Last year, Southern Water was pumping raw sewage into the harbour on 100 days in the 12 months. Mr Nelson said: “A combination of new developments and increased rainfall from climate change means this rate is likely to increase. These issues have been outstanding since 2010. Despite all Ofwat’s efforts and the measures it has taken over the past decade, the situation has continued to deteriorate – and in recent months at an increasing rate.
“The measures that need to be taken to rectify the current situation and to increase the capacity for new housing developments will take some years to build. This issue on its own renders the implementation of the local plan in its current form impossible. All the other issues of infrastructure, environment, wildlife, biodiversity and landscape remain. A moratorium on additional development is becoming more important and more urgent.”
In a letter to Jonson Cox, chairman of Ofwat, and Sir James Bevan, chief executive at the Environment Agency, in November, Mr Nelson said major discharges into the neighbouring, and interconnected, Langstone Harbour had been very concerning. He said: “In recent heavy rainfall we have seen raw sewage coming up through manhole covers in villages around the harbour. This kind of ongoing pollution is not compatible with a developed nation with established operational and consenting structures in place.
“The impact on wildlife, botany, recreation is there for all to see.” See page 6 for more