Labour responds to Government's consultation on storm sewage discharges

Alex Sobel MP, Labour's Shadow Environment Minister, commenting on the Government's announcement of a consultation on storm sewage discharges, on the day it was revealed raw sewage was dumped into rivers and the coasts 372,533 times in England last year, said:

"We face a dirty water emergency.

"For too long under the Conservatives, water companies have been free to dump raw sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas with impunity.

"Labour has long called for better monitoring of sewage spills, but the Government rejected an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have legally required water companies to reduce the amount of sewage discharged into the UK.

"The Government's U-turn on this issue is long overdue and we now hope to finally see proper action to clean up our water."

Ends


Notes to editors:

• 'Largest overhaul of sewer system to tackle storm sewage discharges' - GOV.UK / Defra
  
  
• The Environment Agency today released monitoring data showing raw sewage was dumped into rivers and the coasts 372,533 times in England last year, with discharges totalling 2,667,452 hours.