Thank you for taking the time to contact me about Amendment 45 on the Environment Bill. I’d like to assure you that I’m very strongly opposed to untreated sewage being discharged into our rivers and off our coast, where my constituents rightly expect to find clean water.
Currently, the UK has just one system of pipes to collect both rainwater and wastewater from homes. During storms, so much rainwater can sometimes enter the system that the sewage is forced back to the surface. Storm overflows are designed to allow the sewage to be discharged into rivers instead of flowing back into people’s households.
I voted against an amendment which would have forced water companies to entirely get rid of storm overflows without any plan or impact assessment. The longstanding problem stems from our Victorian era pipes network, which can no longer cope. The problem is so complex that no previous Government has attempted to tackle it.
The preliminary cost of this national infrastructure change is estimated to be anywhere between £150-650 BILLION. This is more than the entire schools, policing, and defence budgets put together. It would have bankrupt most water companies unless consumers or taxpayers contributed.
But we have to face facts that our 19th century system is no longer fit for purpose, which is why I’ve voted in favour of making the Government come up with a plan to reduce storm overflows by next year, as well as creating a report on the costs and benefits of eliminating them entirely.
This will provide clear information on what the Government is doing to reduce the unacceptable levels of sewage being discharged into rivers, and what this will mean for them.
As a coastal constituency, with lots of waterways, I am all too aware of the strength of feeling surrounding this issue, and raise constituents' concerns with Yorkshire Water on a regular basis. Earlier this year, in North Newbald, where the problem is exacerbated by underground springs seeping into the system, residents experienced flooded effluent on their streets and in their gardens as a result of this longstanding issue. After pressing Yorkshire Water, they confirmed an extra £500,000 investment to improve the sewers, in the hope it will prevent groundwater seeping into the system and adding to the problems.
I will continue to raise these issues locally, and support initiatives nationally to improve the water and sewer systems in our area.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. As always, please let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
