The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) will question the CEOs from five of the largest water and sewerage companies in England in person at 2.30pm this afternoon as part of the EAC’s current inquiry on Water Quality in Rivers.
Both within media reports and as part of its inquiry, the EAC said it has heard “shocking reports of widespread pollution in our 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.
Issues the MPs are likely to explore during the evidence session 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;
- and whether water companies are making adequate investment to fix these problems.
The CEOs who will appear before the Committee from 14:25pm 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
Today’s 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.
Click here to watch the water company CEOs take part in the EAC’s evidence session live via the WaterBriefing Watch channel.
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