The government has announced that its target to reduce storm overflows will be enshrined in law.

The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in August 2022, set out stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by up to £56 billion capital investment – the largest infrastructure programme in water company history.

But opposition parties say the move is inadequate and too little, too late. According to the BBC,

• Labour would introduce legislation which would require water companies to cut discharges by 90% by the end of 2030 and impose automatic financial penalties for firms which break the rules.
• The Liberal Democrats said the government’s proposals were “a pathetic rehash of a plan which allows water companies to pump sewage into rivers and lakes for decades to come”.
• The Green Party said the targets were “too little too late”, branding the announcement “another pre-local election gimmick that attempts to get the Conservatives out of the mess they are in”.