100% of storm overflows across the water network in England have
now been fitted with Event Duration Monitors (EDMs), meeting the
ambitious target set by the government to do so by the end of
2023.
Event Duration Monitors increase transparency by measuring how,
when and for how long a storm overflow is in operation. This
shows the public when discharges are happening, and helps the
government and regulators to better hold water companies to
account for illegal sewage spills and improve knowledge of
overflow operation to identify where improvements can be made.
In 2010, just 7% of storm overflows had monitors fitted. Since
then, the government has driven an increase in monitoring, with
100% oversight of overflows now achieved. This delivers on
commitments in our Plan for Water which sets out our plans for
more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement in
the water sector.
The installation of monitors rapidly accelerated under this
government in 2013 when instructed water companies to
increase their storm overflow monitoring.
Storm overflows are an automatic safety valve that release excess
pressure on the network from flooding and heavy rain – preventing
sewage backing up into properties and stopping widespread mains
pipe bursts across the country. They should, however, only be
used under strict permit conditions. Increased monitoring will
give government and regulators the information they need to take
action when permits are breached.
Environment Secretary said:
“The completion of storm overflow monitoring is a major step
forward in better protecting our precious waterways, as well as
the communities and wildlife that rely on them.
“The wealth of data collected from these monitors will ensure
that we know the full extent to the problem – increasing
transparency, revealing the worst-offending overflows, and
enabling regulators to hold polluters to account.
“This step is just one of many ambitious actions set out under
our Plan for Water, which is delivering more investment, stronger
regulation, and tougher enforcement across the water system.”
Environment Agency Executive Director John Leyland said:
“After 8 years of work, every storm overflow is now monitored,
giving us much more information about where and when storm
overflow discharges are happening.
“This increased transparency will allow the Environment Agency to
better tackle illegal discharges from storm overflows. We are
dedicated to investigating those that breach their strict
permitting conditions.
“We take our responsibility to protect the environment very
seriously. We are also strengthening our regulation by expanding
our specialised workforce, increasing compliance checks, and
using new data and intelligence tools to inform our work.”
Water UK Chief Executive David Henderson said:
“With 100% of the near 15,000 storm overflows across England now
monitored we have the best, most comprehensive and accessible
monitoring system in the world. This data will be invaluable in
ensuring investment is targeted at those sites which urgently
need improvements.
“Storm overflows are a design feature and act as a release valve
after heavy storms. Water companies want them to operate as
little as possible, which is why we are seeking regulatory
approval to invest £11 billion over five years – three times the
current rate – to increase the capacity of our sewers and prevent
much more storm water entering the system in the first place.”
As well as the expansion of EDMs, the Government has taken
significant action throughout 2023 to boost water quality and
resilience and hold polluters accountable for environmental
damage.
As part of our Plan for
Water, over
£2.2 billion of new, accelerated investment is
being directed into vital
infrastructure to improve water quality and secure future
supplies, with £1.7bn of this being used to tackle storm
overflows to cut over 10,000 discharges.
This builds on stringent
targets on water companies to reduce storm overflows, outlined in
our Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction
Plan – driving the largest infrastructure
programme in water company history of £60 billion over 25 years.
This will result in hundreds of thousands fewer sewage discharges
every year by 2050. The Plan
frontloads action in particularly important and sensitive areas
including designated bathing waters, meaning the overflows
causing the most harm will be addressed first to minimise
impact.
Polluters now face unlimited
financial penalties for breaching permits and polluting the
environment thanks to changes to Variable Monetary Penalties
(VMPs), which are civil sanctions issued by the Environment
Agency. The move is designed to offer a more rapid form of
punishment compared to criminal prosecution.
