THE Vale of Clwyd MP has said the issue of sewage discharge ‘requires far more consideration than a simple nod through Parliament’ after an amendment to the Environment Bill which would have placed a legal duty on water companies not to dump waste into waterways in England was voted down.

James Davies MP, along with every Conservative MP in North Wales aside from Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton who did not register a vote, opted to vote against the Amendment 45 last week, which was voted down by 268 MPs to 204.

On Tuesday, though, the government announced a partial U-turn, with new rules including a duty on water companies to reduce the impact of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

The organisations will be required by law to show a reduction in sewage overspills during the next five years.

The Westminster Government has no say on these matters in Wales, where sewage management and discharge is carried out by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which answers to the Welsh Government.

In a statement posted on his website, Dr Davies said: “Recently, there has been some social media coverage relating to the discharge of untreated sewage by water companies in England, and the Government's Environment Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.

“As is often the case with such votes, the situation is complex and has either been misunderstood or wilfully misrepresented by some for political purposes.

“Sewage discharge is currently taking place too often, as a result of ‘storm overflows’.

“Much of our sewage and drainage system was built in Victorian times. Surface water from roof drainpipes and road gullies is often still channelled into the system alongside waste water and sewage from households and businesses.

“This runs into treatment plants and is purified, before being released safely into watercourses. However, when there is very heavy rain, too much water can enter the system and pressure builds.

“If the pressure reaches a certain level, this mixture of rain water and sewage would simply flow back up the pipes and flood people’s homes, roads and gardens.

“As a result, storm discharges of waste water (albeit diluted) must on occasions be released into rivers and the sea.

“The amendment which has been highlighted (while well-intentioned) would have required such discharges into watercourses to be reduced regardless of weather conditions, without a plan to achieve this.

“Taken to its extreme, this would at times provide water companies with no choice other than to allow backflow onto land and into properties.

“It is estimated that to dig up much of our national sewer pipe system so as to separate foul waste from surface water will cost between £150 billion and £660 billion.

“To put this into perspective, £150 billion is more than the entire annual schools, policing and defence budgets put together.

“This issue, therefore, requires far more consideration than a simple nod through Parliament. The Government cannot place a duty on water companies amounting to signing a blank cheque on behalf of customers.”

Dr Davies added that the bill is still being debated and voted upon but currently includes:

• “A new duty on the government to produce a statutory plan to reduce discharges from overflows and the harm this causes by September 2022, and report to Parliament on progress.

• “A new duty on water companies and the Environment Agency to publish data on storm overflow operation on an annual basis.

• “A new duty on government to produce a report setting out the actions that would be needed to eliminate storm overflow in England and the costs and benefits of those actions. This report will provide Parliament, the public and the water industry with up-front, clear and comprehensive information on the feasibility and cost of elimination. Between the Government plan on storm overflows and the new elimination report, the Government will set out transparently and precisely how far we can go in tackling storm overflows.

• “A new duty on water companies to publish near real time information (within 1 hour) of the commencement of an overflow, its location and when it ceases.

• “A new duty on water companies to continuously monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of a storm overflow and of sewage disposal works.

• “A new duty on water companies to produce comprehensive statutory Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans setting out how they will manage and develop their drainage and sewerage system over a minimum 25-year planning horizon, and how storm overflows will be addressed through these plans.”

Dr Davies also referenced the action the government is taking outside the bill, including its commitment to undertaking a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England, which would set mandatory build standards for sustainable drainage schemes on new developments, and the fact that, for the first time, the government will be telling the industry’s financial regulator that it expects water companies to take steps to ‘significantly reduce storm overflows’, and that it expects funding to be approved for them to do so.

Dr Davies has also supported the Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill, introduced by Ludlow MP Philip Dunne, which has informed much of the agenda above.

He added: “I work closely with Welsh Water and the Local Authority with regard to the cleanliness of the bathing water locally, as well as agricultural pollution affecting the Rivers Elwy and Clwyd,” before sharing a response he received from Welsh Water earlier this year regarding the action it is taking to becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly (www.jamesdavies.org.uk/news/storm-sewage-discharges-and-environment-bill).

In July, the Government set out for the first time its expectation that The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) should incentivise water companies to invest to significantly reduce the use of storm overflows in the forthcoming pricing review period.

The Government has this week announced that it will now place this policy position into the Environment Bill, to underline the action it is taking.

Figures provided by the Environment Agency show that water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times and for more than three million hours last year.

A pollution alert has also been issued for Traeth Benllech on Anglesey in a Surfers Against Sewage map which tracks combined sewer overflows and pollution risk forecasts, having reportedly been contaminated by human waste due to a sewage discharge.

The legislative process for this bill continues and further consideration of it is due by the Commons on Monday, November 8.