David Levy – Environment Bill update November 1st 2021 – Nov 21

Listening to the DEFRA Minister, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Pow MP on BBC Points West, I do not hear any remorse for the current state that water companies and government have got themselves into regarding discharges of sewage into rivers and watercourses.   Very simply, no accountability for this happening on their watch.

What I do hear is wordy promises to incorporate change — but before they start, they want to give the water companies time to formulate action plans with costings.

One could ask the water companies what they have been doing over the past two decades to not have this information already to hand.   What I also hear and see is a Government doing its level best not to accept a duty on both it and on the water companies to improve, year on year, discharges to the rivers and sea from CSOCSO The sewerage system generally carries surface water from rain falling on paved areas (roads, pavements, roofs, etc.) via a separate sewer from the sewer which carries foul water (sewage). Surface water sewers are generally low in contamination and are allowed to discharge direct to rivers and sea with no treatment, whereas foul sewers go to a sewage treatment works. When there is heavy or prolonged rainfall sewage treatment works may receive some of this rainwater and thus become overloaded. In these circumstances they need to overflow, discharging the overflow with little or no treatment. This overflow either goes direct to a river or the sea or, more commonly, into a surface water sewer which already connects with a river or the sea. This event, when a surface water sewer is compelled to accept poorly or untreated foul water, turns the surface water sewer into a combined sewer (surface and foul water) on account of the foul water sewer overflowing into it. When this happens the discharge from the surface water sewer is known as a ‘combined sewer overflow’. storm overflows.

This avoidance is still going on and the wording of the Government’s Amendment is still not available even though it is to be presented on November 8th in the House of Commons.

I fear that once again the Devil will be in the detail and words will be open to interpretation and, where that happens, the legal duty in the amendment will be the weaker for it.

I would like to suggest that the Duke of Wellington would make a worthy Chair of the newly to be formed Office of Environmental Protection (OEP), and he could oversee the implementation of this new Act and also the selection of the OEP Board that could be independent of Government pressure.

I am not sure how this could happen with Government wanting the control of budget and appointments being made.   This leads to micro-managing everything and, when it suits, cutting budgets for the OEP like it has done for the Environment Agency this year and in earlier years.   Maybe by appointing the Duke of Wellington a compromise situation can be found. It may be he would not like this poisoned chalice.   Time will tell.

Meanwhile a watching brief is all we can expect whilst the Minister plays murky cards close to her chest.   What is clear to all is that the role of politicians is not fit for the 21st Century, and if Glasgow is to deliver then people of vision have to stand up for the planet.

First of all though, we need real action to commence locally if action is to succeed globally.

David Levy