Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

River Health

Thursday 22 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Andrew Selous asked about steps to improve river health, focusing on untreated sewage entering rivers and fines imposed on Southern Water.
  • Measures in the Environment Bill aim to address the issue of untreated sewage entering rivers.
  • Leighton sewage works discharged raw sewage into the River Ouzel for 149 hours in 2019, impacting local wildlife.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Selous Con
Environment
Context

Inquiries about steps being taken by the government to improve river health, particularly regarding untreated sewage entering rivers.

Question

What steps he is taking to help improve river health. Measures are requested to address problems such as untreated sewage entering rivers, highlighting fines imposed on Southern Water and concerns over water quality.

Answer from Rebecca Pow

Measures in the Environment Bill will help to address the problem of untreated sewage entering the rivers. On 9 July, Southern Water was fined £90 million—the largest sum yet for a water company—for persistent illegal discharge of raw sewage. Ministers have been clear with water industry chief executive officers on their companies' legal duties. We are also tackling river pollution from poor farming practices. In addition to regulation and financial incentives, catchment-sensitive farming helps thousands of farmers to make water improvements.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner asked about specific actions being taken but the answer primarily referenced existing measures without committing to new concrete steps or timelines.

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Q2 Andrew Selous Con
Environment
Context

Leighton sewage works pumped raw sewage into the River Ouzel for extensive periods in 2019 and again in March. This has led to a decline in local wildlife, reported by volunteers.

Question

Leighton sewage works pumped raw sewage into the River Ouzel for 149 hours in 2019, and in March this year waste water was pumped into the river for several weeks at Mardle Road. Volunteers Ruth Mundy and Liz Hooper report the absence of ducks, egrets and kingfishers, which were common in the past. Will the new director of water quality at the Environment Agency be able to achieve a rapid and sustained improvement?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting this issue. It is clearly unacceptable. I hope he will agree that we now have many measures in place; he has been involved in pressing for them. The storm overflows taskforce has been set up to deal with the sewage overflows, which, in our view, are used far too frequently. Much more monitoring is in place through the water companies. They have to publish a plan on this issue and the Government have to report back. We are really cracking down on the whole issue of water quality, which my hon. Friend is right to raise.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner asked for concrete commitments from the new director but received a general statement about existing measures and monitoring.

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