, Labour's Shadow DEFRA
Secretary, commenting on footage of raw sewage being released
into our rivers and seas, said:
“People are right to be upset at the dreadful state of England’s
rivers.
“Not one English river is in a healthy condition and there has
been zero improvement since 2016.
“The Government is to blame for allowing water companies to vent
raw sewage into our rivers and sea seemingly at will.
“The Conservatives should urgently U-turn on their decision to
block the Environment Bill amendment so that water companies are
forced to reduce the amount of sewage they pump into our rivers
and seas.
"The millions which go to shareholders do nothing to help with
cleaning up our rivers and seas.
“The Tories should learn from the record and experience of the
Welsh Labour government who have been able to require sustainable
drainage systems to reduce the load on sewage systems and make
investing to tackle future challenges a top priority.”
Ends
Notes to editors
- Not one English river is in a healthy condition, with 0%
meeting good chemical standards and only 14% meeting good
ecological standards – England has the worst river quality in
Europe, with the percentage of waterways reaching good ecological
standards unchanged since 2016.
- Recent research has found that unlawful discharge of
sewage into waterways could be up to ten times more than the rate
Environment Agency prosecutions suggests.
- From 2009- 2019, Environment Agency water quality samples
fell by 45% and the number of sampling points by 40.6%, and the
total budget for Environment Agency prosecutions has fallen by
58%.
- Research by The Guardian has found that raw sewage was
discharged into rivers across England and Wales 200,000 times in
2019, for a total duration of 1.5 million hours. This rose
in 2020 to over 400,000 separate occasions dumping sewage into
the environment.
- Only last week Southern Water were dumping sewage at 60
different locations along the south coast of England. Southern
Water was recently fined an unprecedented £90m for deliberately
venting sewage into the sea – after committing 168 previous
offences.
- The Environment Agency currently relies on water
companies to self-monitor discharges from combined sewer
overflows. In these self-reports, the frequency or duration of
overflow events is recorded but not the environmental impact,
making management of waterways and enforcement of existing rules
more difficult.
