Emma Lewell-Buck: It was my constituent Mr Latimer who was responsible for the law change stating that sewage should only be discharged during exceptional circumstances. He knows, as we all know, that it is this Government who are actively enabling the water companies and regulators to get away with dumping sewage into our rivers and our oceans. Why will the Secretary of State not admit that under this...
Sam Rowlands: Could I support the Member for submitting today's important question on the impact of sewage discharge on water quality at Llyn Padarn? But of course, Minister, this is only the tip of a very dirty iceberg. Because we know that, at the end of last year, figures that were uncovered by ourselves found that, of the 184 sewage pipes operated by Welsh Water without permits in Welsh riverways, only...
Mr Andrew Bennett: Given that many of Britain's beaches are still badly polluted with sewage, that raw sewage regularly finds its way into our rivers, that untreated sewage is still spread on farmland and that the water companies have made massive profits in recent years, will my right hon. Friend give a clear instruction to the water regulator that we want these environmental problems fixed, and fixed...
Rebecca Pow: We have been repeatedly clear to water companies that they must tackle sewage overflows urgently, and the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will deliver the largest infrastructure investment in water company history to clean up our rivers. Under the Environment Act we have improved monitoring and the transparency of data related to sewage overflows. Event Duration Monitors will be...
Miss Emma Nicholson: I am delighted to hear my right hon. and learned Friend's good news of the 17 per cent. rise in compliance with sewage treatment standards. However, he should know that my constituents are concerned about a sewage treatment plant which is not yet in existence. Can he assure me that if South West Water locates a sewage treatment plant at Northam in my constituency, that plant will reach the...
Hon. Nicholas Ridley: ...of the figures that I have just given—[Interruption.]I am not knocking anybody; I am merely giving her the figures, which she does not seem to like very much. I dispute the hon. Lady's view on sewage sludge. Putting sewage sludge into the sea may be the best way to deal with it. No doubt the hon. Lady has seen the recently published report on dioxins, of which one of the main sources is...
Sylvia Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list the maintenance work carried out at Millisle Sewage Pumping in each of the past three years; and what the (a) nature and (b) duration was of the maintenance carried out on each occasion; (2) what assessment has been carried out by his Department of the health and safety implications of raw sewage leaks from Millisle's...
Paul Martin: In the Robroyston area of my constituency, people are experiencing severe difficulties with connection to water and sewage services. Since last August, a business that aims to locate to my constituency and which will provide 130 jobs has experienced difficulties with Scottish Water in connecting to water and sewage services. Can I meet the minister to discuss the issue and to ensure that,...
Kenneth Clarke: ...have been made to study previous years to see if there is any correlation between the years when the algae bloomed to produce high levels of toxin and those when nutrients, including nutrients from sewage, have existed at a high level in the North sea. [Interruption.] To those algae, sewage is nutrient. There is no correlation between the two. The algae appear to bloom naturally when...
Hon. Nicholas Ridley: About 14 per cent. of the sewage from England and Wales is discharged to the sea where it is treated through the disinfecting actions of salt water, sunlight and waves which together break down the bacteria as effectively as inland treatment. That is why the Royal Commission on environmental pollution concluded in its 10th report that with well-designed sewage outfalls, discharge of sewage to...
Mr John Cordle: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to deal with the danger to public health caused by lack of control over sewage round the coast-line and the fouling of beaches. This is a matter of urgency and priority and one about which the country as a whole is gravely concerned. The whole nation—indeed, many people outside this country as well—have been shocked and horrified at...
Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps her Department is taking to prevent the network of combined sewage and storm water overflows discharging raw sewage into the River Thames; (2) what investment is planned from 2005 (a) to improve the quality of effluent discharged through overflows, (b) to increase the storage capacity at sewage and...
Mohammad Yasin: The Environmental Audit Committee recently recommended that Ministers tackle water pollution by setting a stretching timetable for progressive reduction in sewage overflows. However, under the storm overflow discharge reduction plan, half the storm overflows would still be spilling untreated sewage in 2040. This is totally unacceptable to my constituents, who have every right to expect clean...
Rebecca Pow: This is the first Government to take such significant steps to tackle sewage overflows, including those near Great Yarmouth. We have been repeatedly clear to water companies that they must tackle sewage overflows urgently, and the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will deliver the largest infrastructure investment in water company history to clean up our rivers. Under the Environment...
Anne McIntosh: ...my husband would say the same about me. Recommendation 10 of the Pitt review could not be clearer. It goes to the heart of the matter. It is a question of semantics. I am talking about waste water sewage, foul water sewage—the stuff that comes through the toilet—while the hon. Gentleman is talking about surface water sewage. I am not disagreeing with him. There is an element of...
Tony Baldry: ...quality of our rivers and coastal waters compared with those of other countries. Ninety-six per cent. of the United Kingdom's population are connected to the sewer system and 83 per cent. of our sewage is treated. That stands comparison with any country in Europe or in the Community. In 1987, 95 per cent. of river length in the United Kingdom was of good or fair quality compared with 75...
Mr Rupert Allason: ...that has been drawn up by the Torbay branch of Friends of the Earth. It has been signed by 10,374 constituents and visitors to my constituency. It is on the subject of the discharge of untreated sewage into the Channel. That is not to say that the beaches of Torbay are any less attractive than those anywhere else on the south coast. Indeed they have awards from Europe. Torbay has...
Jim McMahon: Essentially there is no plan, and the lack of a plan is a theme running through the Government. Let us move on to sewage discharge. Yesterday, when asked what could be done to reduce sewage discharges in the River Wye, the Prime Minister suggested putting on his trunks and going for a swim. While it might be normal for him, most of us do not like being up to our necks in raw sewage. Yet...
Mr Jack Browne: These possibilities are fully discussed in a Government Report on the Treatment and Disposal of Sewage Sludge published last year and brought to the notice of technical officers of local authorities likely to be interested. They are kept fully in mind by the Department in the examination of proposals for new sewage purification works. The local authorities at present using methane from the...
Rebecca Pow: At some sewage treatment works, where the permitted treatment capacity may be exceeded due to rainfall, storm tanks form part of the treatment process to limit spills of storm sewage (mixture of sewage and rainfall) to the water environment. These discharges are permitted by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. The permit conditions typically define the...
