Extending overflow monitoring requirements could cost £4bn

Water companies will have to monitor an additional 1,300 storm overflows under government proposals put out to consultation today (12 June).

Under the proposals, water and sewerage companies would have to extend their monitoring to marine waters.

Monitoring an additional 1,300 storm overflows at coastal locations is estimated to cost companies a combined £4 billion.

The proposals have been introduced by the Department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) following criticism of the storm overflows reduction plan, which mandated river monitoring but not costal waters.

Following the criticism government indicated its intention to expand requirements to cover coastal waters as well as rivers.

The current plan covers 91% of storm overflows, but will now include all estuaries, coasts and marine sites also.

The consultation sets out that the 9% of overflows not currently covered by targets in the plan do not impact bathing waters. It said adding these to the targets would ultimately add to billpayer costs.

“While 93% of our beaches with designated bathing status are already rated excellent or good, there is still more to do to better protect our hugely important coasts and estuaries,” environment secretary Therese Coffey said. “That is why I am consulting to extend our stringent targets to cover every storm overflow in England – protecting people and the environment across the country.”

She described the targets in the storm overflows reduction plan as “an achievable, credible route to tackling sewage”, however critics said it lacks ambition, particularly on timings with some targets set for 2050.

The consultation runs to 23 July and includes proposals to increase storage at overflows to limit annual spill frequency to 10 per year.

A consultation to make pollution fines unlimited is also live. Work by Ofwat and the Environment Agency is underway to tighten the controls and oversight of the sector.