What is the Water (Special Measures) Bill and why is it important?

This new piece of legislation is intended to give water company regulators new powers, enabling them to crack down on environmental damage caused by water companies.

We support the introduction of the Water (Special Measures) Bill. It represents an important step in preventing further pollution of our seas and rivers from sewage discharges. We also think it has huge potential to address the harm caused by road runoff. However, we’ve identified a number of easy amendments that could be made to strengthen it even further. This Bill presents a fantastic opportunity to safeguard our water, and we want to make the most of it.

That’s why we’ve sent a briefing to the Lords outlining exactly what changes need to be made to the Water (Special Measures) Bill. We’ve also been spending time talking to peers one on one, empowering them with the knowledge they need to see these amendments through. Here’s an overview of the amendments we’ve suggested.

There should be mandatory monitoring and reporting of all sewage overflows by 31st March 2030.

We cannot efficiently combat sewage discharges, nor track improvements, without properly understanding the scale of the problem. By creating a comprehensive picture of where and when sewage is discharging, regulators can make sure that water companies implement plans to reduce this pollution.

Monitoring needs to be expanded to cover the volume of a discharge.

Data on the volume of sewage discharges from emergency and storm overflows is essential. At present, only time and duration are reported. Without volume, it’s impossible to build a picture of potential harm. Under current monitoring, there is no differentiation between a one hour ‘trickle’ from a sewage overflow and a one hour deluge from another.

Monitoring needs to cover testing for persistent chemicals and other pollutants.

Understanding the composition of sewage discharges is vital for gauging potential environmental harm. Persistent chemicals are of particular concern. These chemicals can enter our seas via sewage discharges, and once they’re in the environment, they do not break down. With each discharge, the concentration of persistent chemicals in the environment is building up. Monitoring must include testing for persistent chemicals and other pollutants.

Sewerage and water undertakers must be under a duty to prepare, publish and implement pollution incident reduction plans.

At present, water undertakers are not required to publish pollution incident reduction plans; this is restricted to sewage undertakers. Adding to this, the Bill only stipulates that sewerage undertakers must publish their pollution incident reduction plans—not that they need to implement them. This must be amended to protect our seas.

No future exceptions should be made to the requirement to report discharges from emergency overflows this requirement.

At present, the Bill states that the Minister may make provision for exceptions from the duty to report discharges from emergency overflows. We believe these exceptions could be used to avoid addressing discharges that are harder to tackle and could open the door to weakening these important requirements, for example in relation to estuaries or coastal waters.

It’s really important that the government understands just how much you care about our seas. By joining the March for Clean Water in November, you can send that message loud and clear. We’ll be there too, so come and say hi if you see us!