The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) will next week question the Chief Executives from five of the largest water and sewerage companies in England as part of its current inquiry on Water Quality in Rivers.
The EAC has already heard reports of widespread pollution in English rivers, including:
- Water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times in 2020;
- The inquiry has previously heard that a ‘chemical cocktail’ of pollution is now affecting rivers;
- Just 14% of English rivers currently rated an ecological status of ‘Good,’ and no river rated ‘Good’ on its chemical status. One of the main sources for this is sewage discharge from the water industry.
During the evidence session, issues the MPs are likely to explore include:
- the effectiveness of self-monitoring sewage spills;
- how pollution from fats, oils and greases, chemicals, and plastic pollution can be tackled;
- current regulation and enforcement of pollution incidents;
- whether water companies are making adequate investment to fix these problems.
The Chief Executives who will be appearing before the Committee on Wednesday 13 October 2021 from 14:25 onwards are:
- Liv Garfield CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Severn Trent
- Sarah Bentley, Chief Executive Officer, Thames Water
- Heidi Mottram, Chief Executive Officer, Northumbrian Water Group
- Susan Davy, Chief Executive Officer, South West Water
- Ian McAulay, Chief Executive Officer, Southern Water
The session marks the final evidence hearing for the Water Quality in Rivers inquiry. The report is due to be published by the end of the year.
Visit WaterBriefing on 13th October to watch the Committee hearing live via the WaterBriefing Watch Channel
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.