Minister reveals plans to reform water sector and tackle pollution

Minister for Water Emma Hardy
-Credit: (Image: supplied)


Many areas around Cornwall have been blighted by foul sewage leaks into the sea, and residents have been repeatedly disappointed by discharge alerts. The problem has been going on for years, despite repeated calls for South West Water (SWW) to tackle the issue.

Now, Minister for Water Emma Hardy has spoken out about the Government's plans to reform the water sector - saying that more must be done to hold water companies to account. Under Labour, she said that water companies will be held accountable for their actions, and made to work for, and be fair to, the consumer.

Read on to see what Emma Hardy, MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, had to say.

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Devon and Cornwall are blessed with stunning coastline but people have been let down by the water industry. Quite simply, we all deserve better.

Sewage has polluted our rivers, lakes and seas for too long and there has been too little accountability for those responsible. That ends now.

On Thursday (September 12), we announced major new legislation that will kick-start the urgent change that is needed across the sector. All water companies must rise to that challenge and that includes South West Water.

In July, the Environment Agency awarded South West Water just two-out-of-four stars in their Environmental Performance Assessment – something they have in common with four other water companies. Last year, South West Water saw 530,737 hours’ worth of untreated sewage discharged into local waterways and that is simply unacceptable. I recently met with the firm’s bosses and set out that I expected them to do better.

We need to restore trust in the sector and we are doing this by putting fairness and accountability at the heart of our change. In our first few weeks of taking office, we ringfenced investment to make sure it can't be siphoned off to line the pockets of executives in instances where companies underdeliver.

Our new Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade – including increasing the ability of the Environment Agency to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives. It will create new tougher penalties, including imprisonment up to two years, for water executives when companies fail to cooperate or obstruct investigations

It is a major piece of legislation in which the economic regulator Ofwat will be given more powers to ban bonuses for executives who oversee underperforming water companies – failing to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers and their company’s finances. The Environment Agency will have greater powers to impose automatic and severe fines for environmental wrongdoing.

The public have a right to know what is happening in their waterways. There will also be a new legal requirement for water companies to produce annual Pollution Incident Reduction Plans, so we can all track what action they are taking to reduce the frequency and severity of them.

Plus, water companies will be required to publish real-time data, within an hour, for all emergency overflows in England in a clear, accessible format. This will deliver on the government’s manifesto commitment to require independent monitoring of every sewage outlet.

We know this area relies on clean waters for tourism and the public are rightly angry with the water companies, particularly coastal regions that rely on clean waters for tourism. Indeed, we heard the frustration last month when Exmouth Beach was closed to holidaymakers because of a burst sewage pipe.

Ofwat are proposing South West Water spend £3.6bn between 2025 and 2030 on upgrades, including storm overflows and wastewater treatment works. We absolutely welcome spending that will cut pollution.

The water sector also needs to work for, and be fair to, the consumer. We came into office weeks after residents in Brixham were ordered to stop drinking their water because of a parasite outbreak.

This simply should not be happening in 2024, and we have already announced plans to double compensation payments in future when standards are not met. At the same time, we expect water companies to consider the wider cost of living crisis when considering bill rises.

We cannot only think in the short term. The region’s 860 miles of coastline make it very vulnerable to climate change and population growth is piling even more pressure on water supplies.

I want to see more leaks fixed and water used more efficiently but we need bold infrastructure projects to address looming shortages. Plans looking at future water resources show England needs to find an additional 5 billion litres of water a day by 2050 – and the government will help water companies rise to that challenge.

We will bring forward further legislation to fundamentally transform our entire water system. This will reform the water sector, tackle pollution and deliver a resilient water supply, turbocharging investment to sustain our communities and the environment in the decades to come.

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