Wildlife & Countryside Link ‘Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill     The Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill was published this month by Phillip Dunne MP (Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee), proposing ambitious new measures to turn the tide on river pollution from untreated sewage and to improve water quality. The Bill was welcomed by Link, particularly following last month’s water quality data reveal that 0% of rivers, lakes and streams are classed as in good health in England.

The proposed measures include placing a duty on water companies to ensure that untreated sewage is not discharged into our inland waters, to increase monitoring and reporting of sewage pollution, and to establish targets to increase the number of inland bathing waters classed as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.  The Bill will be going for its Second Reading on 13th November. We will continue to support the #EndSewagePollution coalition in their campaign to get 100 MPs to support the Bill, to push it through to a Third Reading. 

To accompany this yet another article of the failings of Thames Water on sewage pollution of the Thames and how this is monitored.

Defra ‘There has been further critical coverage in the Times about the Environment Agency, with an article in today’s paper on sewage discharges into the River Thames from Mogden Sewage Works in west London.

The piece notes the Environment Agency ordered that an event duration monitor (EDM) be used to detect all such spills from the site, however it suggests that analysis carried out for the paper shows that Mogden’s EDM has frequently failed. The journalist draws on wider fears from environmental groups to suggest EDMs are not recording the true scale of sewage discharges into our rivers.’