EAC launches inquiry into river health

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has launched an inquiry into how monitoring, transparency, enforcement, and regulatory guidance could be improved to boost river health.

The committee will focus on waterways polluted by urban contaminants and is inviting input on a range of issues, from inland bathing waters to the efficacy of Ofwat’s regulation and the cost of reducing storm overflows.

Following a 2018 report on agricultural pollution, this inquiry will focus on urban pollutants including sewage, plastic pollution and unmonitored runoffs from highways.

EAC chair Philip Dunne said the committee will consider how pollution can be reduced after “numerous scathing reports” about legal sewage discharges. He described the “unacceptable levels of water pollution” as cause for concern for the health of ecosystems and humans.

Dunne said: “Our new inquiry will be considering how water quality can be improved, how we can push the incidence of water pollution right down and what – if any – changes to monitoring, transparency, enforcement and government guidance to regulators are needed.”

The committee is inviting written submissions on the following until February:

• What are the best indicators for river water quality that could be used as targets being developed under the Environment Bill?
• How could drainage and sewage management plans, introduced by the Environment Bill, play a role in reduced sewer discharges?
• How adequate are the monitoring and reporting requirements around water company discharges? How can technology improve and assist with transparency and enforcement?
• What is the impact of plastic pollution and other materials on drainage and water quality in rivers and what should be done to mitigate it?
• How can consumers be persuaded to change their behaviour to minimise pollution?
• What is the required investment level needed to minimise storm overflows vs the scope for sustainable drainage and nature-based solutions?
• How effective are the planning policy and standards around sustainable drainage systems to reduce urban diffuse pollution in England?
• Should local authorities and highways agencies be given a duty to prevent pollution to watercourses without prior treatment?
• How effective is Ofwat’s remit and regulation of water companies? Does it facilitate sufficient investment in improvements to treat water quality, including sustainable drainage system outflows and nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands?
• Is adequate investment being made in adapting water treatment systems to future climate change?
• How could the designation of inland bathing waters by water companies affect the costs of achieving the associated water quality standards?