Ofwat David Black 18 June 2021    ‘Dear Chief Executive,      Improving performance on the use of storm overflows In my new role as Ofwat’s Interim CEO I have been keen to meet with companies and stakeholders to hear more about the steps the sector is and will be taking to meet the challenges and ambitions of our strategy, Time to Act, Together. This strategy is clear that we will make the environment integral to all that we do and that companies need to improve the environment as a core part of their business, so we leave our environment in a better state than we found it. We are all aware of the growing concern from customers and wider stakeholders about the use of storm overflows and the impact this may have on local watercourses, biodiversity and communities.

There is no doubt this area is complex, multi-faceted and needs engagement and commitment from across a number of sectors. Two things are clear though: first, customer and society expectations in this space are changing and will continue to grow; and, second, the positive strides the sector has made in other areas of environmental performance are not evident with respect to storm overflows. The sector’s ability to respond to this challenge will be key to it gaining and keeping public trust. I know there is a growing focus on storm overflows, especially through the Storm Overflow Taskforce Defra set up in August 2020 (of which we are a member) and the development of Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans in England and Wales. Companies’ commitment in January 2021 to provide more real-time data on sewage discharges at bathing sites and to accelerate work to install monitoring devices by 2023 in England and by March 2022 in Wales are important steps, and the research the Taskforce has commissioned on long-term options will provide useful insight. And this, of course, sits alongside PR19 investment of £1.2 billion to reduce the use of storm overflows. Click here to read the letter in full.