Cumbria’s Sue Hayman has slammed the pollution of the UK’s waterways during a session in the House of Lords this week, asking Government if cracking down on the issue is really a priority.
The pollution of the UK’s seas, lakes and rivers has been a contentious topic in recent weeks. Water companies can legally dump untreated sewage into waterways when sewers become overwhelmed during periods of heavy rainfall.
Following calls for action, the Government set out plans to strictly limit the number of instances earlier this week, leading to a debate in the House of Commons on whether the measures are strong enough.
In the House of Lords of Wednesday, former Workington MP and the Baroness of Ullock added her voice to calls for tougher limits on water companies.
She said: “Yesterday, the former Secretary of State talked about the importance of monitoring, but simply knowing about this filthy practice will not actually stop it.
“Recent figures show a massive increase in the amount of sewage dumped by water companies, with the Environment Agency data suggesting a stunning 2,553 per cent increase over just five years.
“This week we’ve seen storms and heavy rainfall across the country with that rain expected to overload our sewage system and force releases into coastal bathing areas and rivers.
“If this is a Government priority, why is it taking so long to sort out and when will this practice be banned?”
She asked if Government would make any announcements on the issue since the appointment of new Prime Minister Liz Truss’ cabinet.
Lord Benyon, minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “I understand that the new Secretary of State Ranil Jayawardena has met with representatives of water companies today on his first day in office, so it will be an absolute priority.”
New Government measures include investing £56 million into increasing the capacity of the UK’s sewage system, reducing need for the sewage outflows.
Lord Benyon said: “The noble lady talks about monitoring as part of the solution, she’s absolutely right it is but as water minister over a decade ago I was stunned to realise that we only knew of about 5 per cent of the storm overflow.
“That is now 90 per cent and by the end of this year, we will know every single one. They’ll be able to be monitored in real time and it is going to make a huge difference.
“She asked when it will be ended, well it can’t be ended. Our sewage system is created around storm overflows since the Victorian times but it can be dramatically reduced and the impact of it can be nullified in many areas.”
