South West Water has reduced storm overflow spills at one of its highest spilling sites in Cornwall after recent improvements in the area.

New Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has written to water company Chief Executives calling on them to go “further and faster” to secure a measurable reduction in sewage spills in the next 12 months and asking them to respond with written plans by 19th December.

Water sector regulator Ofwat has set out measures that will penalise companies that do not fully monitor their storm overflows.

Southern Water finally completed a major repair to a broken sewer on Friday last week after the burst was first detected in a rural area near Bognor on 16^th May 2023.

Ofwat is seeking comment on its proposed approach to the storm overflows performance commitment definition for the 2024 Price Review (PR24) and requirements to install and maintain event duration monitors (EDMs). 

Scottish Water has published an update to its “Improving Urban Waters Routemap’ to further improve the quality of the country’s urban waterways a year on from its publication.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for “a 16% sewage tax on their £2.2 billion annual profits to improve our sewage system and protect our rivers and lakes.”

Dr Lucinda Gilfoyle, Anglian Water’s Head of Environmental Quality, takes a detailed look at some the issues surrounding the current situation regarding the use of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) by the water companies to discharge untreated sewage.

The Environment Agency has confirmed that river life along a seven mile stretch of a tributary of the River Thames has been wiped out following a devastating raw sewage spill.