Defra has published a summary of responses and the government response to the recent consultation on continuous water quality monitoring and event duration monitoring. The consultation sought views on the government’s proposals to enhance the monitoring of storm overflows and final effluent discharges into watercourses

Some key points from the government’s response

• Urban Pollution Management Fundamental Intermittent standards (UPM FIS) will remain the standard to benchmark the monitoring programme against
• The Government has not decided to include nitrate monitoring in this programme. However, Defra will “continue to explore opportunities to do this in the future and appreciates respondents highlighting appropriate technology”
• Storm overflows which have fewer than 10 spills per year over a 5-year average will not be included in the monitoring programme
• Water companies will be required to have completed rollout of 25% of all sites by 2030. Defra says “This initial rollout should focus on high priority sites. We expect most water companies should be able to install monitors at 50% of high priority sites within the envelope of a 25% rollout of the total programme.”
• Defra’s position remains that “data collected in the continuous water quality monitoring programme (e.g. spills from storm overflows) should be presented in the form of an interactive national map. We have noted the comments made regarding the data being presented in a visual manner that is easy to use, as well as the ability to pinpoint the exact location of spills. Defra will provide further updates regarding the presentation of this data in due course.”

Defra will now be making the proposed updates to the technical guidance, which will be published on www.gov.uk in due course. Defra also says that “the event duration monitoring and continuous water quality monitoring programmes will continue to be developed in partnership with stakeholders.”