01 Sep 2022

UK Government launch Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction plan Defra have announced the new storm overflows discharge reduction plan, which sets stringent new targets to protect people and the environment. This will require water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. As we have previously covered, the announcement follows a series of […]

01 Sep 2022

News outlets have reported that the UK government’s plan to cut millions of hours of raw sewage discharges by water companies each year is facing a judicial review on the grounds that it is unlawful. The conservationist charity WildFish is calling for the storm overflow reduction strategy, published on 26th August, to be withdrawn immediately, […]

01 Sep 2022

Sir James Bevan, the CEO of the Environment Agency, has said that Britons need to be ‘less squeamish’ about drinking water from sewage. Writing in the Sunday Times [paywall] and reported in the Guardian and Evening Standard. He said it was “perfectly safe and healthy, but not something many fancy”. Sir James Bevan outlined measures […]

30 Aug 2022

UK Government launch Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction plan / Hundreds of coastal overflow sites ‘not included’ in UK government sewage plan / UK accused of threatening health and marine life on the French coast.      Marine Conservation Society analysis says 600 coastal overflow sites will continue to spill Government plans to reduce sewage spills in English […]

25 Aug 2022

Defra have responded (22/8/22) to the recent coverage around recent surface water flooding and storm overflow discharges, including the claims concerning the faulty sewage monitors in England and Wales. The UK government press office wrote in their recent blog post: ‘Untreated sewage can be devastating to human health, local biodiversity and our environment which is […]

23 Aug 2022

Lib Dems call for Sewage Tax to prevent water firms polluting shellfish habitats.     Lobsters, crabs, clams and oysters are the “forgotten victims” of sewage being dumped into the sea and rivers around the UK, new analysis has shown. (Photo credit: Cocklers at work in Morecombe Bay. PA / PA Archive) The London Evening […]

21 Jul 2022

Yorkshire Water has been fined £1,600,750 for polluting a Bradford watercourse in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency. The company appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court for sentence on Monday, 18 July, where it pleaded guilty to unauthorised sewage discharges into Bradford Beck, and breaches of its environmental permit. The court heard its George Street […]

13 Jul 2022

Scottish Water is set to invest up to £100m in technology to monitor its sewage pipes following successful trials. It said that investment in systems including remote sensors is set to improve its service to customers, protect the environment, reduce costs and assist in its journey towards net zero carbon emissions. The systems are designed […]