Mark Spencer: The only reason that the Government has been able to take action to reduce storm overflows is because of the increase in monitoring under this Government, from 5% in 2016 to almost 90% of the sewage network. The latest assessment shows sewage discharges cause 7% of waterbodies to fail to achieve Good Ecological Status. This is unacceptable. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will...
Richard Benyon: ...increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion. As part of the Action Plan, DEFRA will work with the Environment Agency to clarify the regulatory position on co-digestion of waste with sewage sludge at sewage treatment works. DEFRA will also discuss with Ofwat the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading's market study that looked at competition in the treatment of organic...
Elliot Morley: holding answer 18 May 2004 A study carried out in the USA has examined the evidence for Staphylococcus aureus (SA) in sewage sludge applied to land and whether a route existed by which populations living in proximity to sludge spreading could be infected. The result of this work was that no SA were detected in any background aerosol or sludge aerosol sample. Proposals to amend the Sludge...
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The predictive model used in the Catchment Risk Assessment of Steroid Oestrogens from Sewage Treatment Works, commissioned by the Environment Agency from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, includes 357 river catchments split into some 10,313 river reaches (21,452 km) covering 122,000 km2 of the inland waters of England and Wales. Estuaries and coastal waters, and sewage treatment works...
Mr Evelyn King: ...for the area they object to the proposed point of disposal and request the Board to: Investigate and install modern and progressive methods of disposal to avoid pollution of the sea by untreated sewage, detergents and other chemicals. and to Consider provision of an inland sewage farm, or suitable method of sewage recovery, rather than sewage disposal. The Petitioners believe that mass...
...the promoters of the Bill, and I was greatly interested to find on page 3: A sludge main (which may be defined as a pipe or conduit used to convey the comparatively innocuous residues of treated sewage) … That is not what the Bill says. Clause 4 states, 'sludge main' means a pipe or system of pipes (together with any apparatus and any pumping station, outfall or other works associated...
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Sewage sludge spread to land as fertiliser or soil improver can be a valuable source of nutrients. The recycling of sewage sludge to land remains a safe activity, provided it is carried out in accordance with the relevant regulatory controls and good practice guidance is followed. Currently, water...
Rear-Admiral Tufton Beamish: I beg to move, in page 3, line 17, after "schools," to insert: and such supply shall take precedence over the improvement of existing supplies and to the provision of sewerage or the disposal of sewage in their locality. What I have tried to do is to be consistent, and the object of this Amendment is to ensure priority, so far as possible, for a piped water supply before a supply of water for...
Roy Beggs: I thank the Minister for his answer. To meet the urban waste water treatment directive, Northern Ireland Water does not propose to treat secondary sewage but to discharge untreated sewage from Ballycarry, Whitehead and Ballystrudder into the mouth of Belfast Lough. Is the Minister aware that the threshold in England for such amounts of water is a population of 2,000, whereas it is 7,500 in...
Rebecca Pow: We have not produced an impact assessment specifically on the impact of sewage dumping by water companies on shellfish. However, the Government has designated 101 shellfish water protected areas in England where water quality is monitored for E. coli. We have identified 63 priority areas where there is significant economic production and have the potential to meet the E. coli standard by...
Ross Finnie: In 1996 the Royal Commission on Environmental Protection published its report Sustainable Use of Soil (Col. 1365), which included examination of the transmission of pathogens from sewage sludge, or biosolids. This was reviewed by the commission in March 2002, and the review is available at: http://www.rcep.org.uk/pdf/soil1rep.pdf. In 1998 the Environment Sub-Committee of the Select Committee...
Ross Finnie: In 1996 the Royal Commission on Environmental Protection published its report Sustainable Use of Soil (Col. 1365), which included examination of the transmission of pathogens from sewage sludge, or biosolids. This was reviewed by the commission in March 2002, and the review is available at: http://www.rcep.org.uk/pdf/soil1rep.pdf. In 1998 the Environment Sub-Committee of the Select Committee...
Andrew Slaughter: ...tribute to Bazalgette and the others who designed and built it. It is, however, clearly inadequate, and has been so for some time. The present system consists of combined sewers, which convey foul sewage and rainwater run-off to the sewage treatment works before they are discharged. When the combined sewers reach capacity, the combined sewer overflows—CSOs—are designed to discharge...
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: As part of their planning for River Basin Management Plans the Environment Agency have assessed the impact of sewage discharges on the water environment, along with the impact from other sectors such as Agriculture. This assessment is published on gov.uk as part of the Environment Agency’s consultation on the choices and challenges associated with third cycle River Basin Planning for the...
Rebecca Pow: The volume of sewage discharged by water companies is absolutely unacceptable. Improving water quality is a high priority for the Government, which is why we have launched an ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm sewage overflows in water companies, the biggest in history. It is also why we have increased our monitoring from 5% in 2016 right up to 19% now. It will be 100% next...
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Ofwat has not fined Thames Water for illegal discharges of untreated sewage into rivers. Regulation of discharges of untreated sewage to the water environment is the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA) and not Ofwat. In March 2017, Thames Water was ordered to pay fines of almost £20 million following a series of significant pollution incidents on the River Thames and its...
Ian Pearson: ...in early 2007. This will then be taken forward for planning and funding applications. The Department has already been involved in decisions to address the issue of storm overflows at three London sewage treatment works. As a result, several major schemes, involving substantial expenditure, are planned through Thames Water over the next eight years, to significantly increase the secondary...
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: Moved by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch 161: After Clause 77, insert the following new Clause—“Duty on water companies: untreated sewageIn Part 1 of the Water Industry Act 1991, after Chapter 1 (appointments) insert—“CHAPTER 1ZADUTY ON WATER COMPANIES: UNTREATED SEWAGE17ZA Duty on water companies: untreated sewage (England)(1) A water company in England...
Lord Benyon: First, the noble Baroness suggests that there was no sewage going into rivers before water companies came along. Underinvestment when they were nationalised businesses was at historic levels, and our bathing waters were much worse than they are today. I am not saying for a moment that there are not serious problems. This Government are—if I can steal a soundbite—tough on sewage in rivers...
Rebecca Pow: The Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill is a Private Members' Bill sponsored by my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Ludlow. The Government is very supportive of the intentions of the Bill. With regard to measures to improve the health of rivers and other inland waters, the Government remains committed to bringing at least three quarters of our waters to as close as possible to their natural state as soon...
