Water supply issues hit Rye again at the end of November. This time, it was a burst watermain leak underneath Monk Bretton Bridge on the A259. 750 properties in Camber, East Guldeford and Rye were impacted by low pressure or no water. Again, as I did when Rye suffered water outages in late September and early October, I urged Southern Water to focus on a solution to ensure the supply of mains pressure water to affected properties (we all know how unsatisfactory the tankered water supply is), as well as delivering water bottles to the most vulnerable and setting up a water station.
I was relieved that Southern Water acted much more quickly this time around, with bottled water delivered to those on the Priority Services Register immediately and setting up a Bottled Water Station in Camber. These measures were not needed for very long as whilst the leak was in a tricky location, Southern Water installed an overland pump, which helped divert the water network around the impacted area, enabling all customers to return to mains supply. Lessons have clearly been learnt from last time.
Water quality has been a topic of debate in Parliament again this week. The Liberal Democrats tabled an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill which would establish a Sewage Victim Compensation Scheme. This would have changed nothing as regards the rights of those potentially affected by water pollution because anyone who suffers harm as a result of criminal conduct can already seek compensation where there is evidence of personal injury, loss or damage through criminal or civil proceedings. It was just the political game playing of opposition parties but a bit rich considering that according to reports, sewage pipes in a seafront café owned by the Liberal Democrat controlled Eastbourne Council were illegally connected to surface water in 2007 and were not inspected - discharging thousands of litres of sewage directly into the sea for nearly 17 years.
The Labour Party led an Opposition Day Debate on protecting water quality and reducing storm overflows, as well as bonuses for water company executives. Again, political grandstanding as this Government is already forcing water companies to clean up their act. There are now duties on water companies to monitor water quality upstream and downstream of storm overflows and sewage disposal works and to publish storm overflow data, holding them to account on sewage. When Labour left office in 2010, just seven per cent of storm overflows were being monitored, meaning discharge of sewage went under-reported and unmonitored. The Conservative Government has driven this up to 91 per cent already and expect to have 100 per cent of overflows being monitored by the end of this year. This will give us the tools we need to hold water companies, including Southern Water, to account. It is good news that 90 per cent of bathing waters are now rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, including our own bathing waters off the coast of Hastings and Rye.
The Government is also prosecuting water companies that illegally pollute our rivers, making clear that polluters will pay for damage to our natural environment. Since 2015 the Environment Agency has brought 58 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of over £141 million. Some of the biggest fines were imposed in recent years – including a record £90 million fine for Southern Water in 2021. I was delighted with my campaign – along with other Conservative Environment Network colleagues – in successfully lobbying ministers to reinvest fines for companies that pollute our waters into environmental and water quality improvement projects - not to the Treasury. This Water Restoration Fund can be invested in a variety of projects such as creating wetlands, re-vegetating riverbanks and reconnecting meanders to main rivers. These sorts of schemes, paid for through fines imposed on water companies, will not only help improve our natural environment, but also protect public health and reduce pollution. In addition, and for the first time ever, the Government is also incentivising water companies to invest to significantly reduce the use of storm overflows – between 2020 and 2025, they will invest £7.1 billion on environmental improvements in England, including £3.1 billion on storm overflows. This will create the new infrastructure needed to stop discharges. These steps to increase monitoring and fines for water companies is the right long-term approach to this issue and will be far more effective than Labour’s short-term proposals to tax water companies more which would drive up water bills for hard-working families.
In addition, this Government is imposing a legal duty on water companies to deliver £56 billion in capital investment over 25 years to reduce storm overflows. Water companies must produce comprehensive statutory Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans to manage and develop their drainage and sewerage system over 25 years.
Under the 2021 Environment Act, new powers were created including a power of direction for the Government to direct water companies in relation to the actions in these Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans if they are not good enough. This power of direction will also crack down on sewage discharges.
Protecting and improving our water quality is something I am passionate about and have campaigned long and hard for – and will continue to do so. Improving our water quality will not only benefit our coastal economy but it will also improve our coastal ecosystem, restore and increase biodiversity and help unleash the power of the ocean to sequester carbon and help mitigate against climate change.
I am proud to be part of a government which has introduced deliverable, costed plans to tackle this issue – with requirements on water companies to significantly reduce storm overflows and clean up pollution as well as new powers for the Government to direct underperforming companies, which the Government will not hesitate to use. We all strive to turn our waters blue, not brown.