New powers for water companies and a ban of non-flushable wipes proposed

A ban on non-flushable wet-wipes, new powers for water companies to rectify misconnected drains and mandatory water efficiency labelling are among the recommendations proposed by a think tank.

Days after the Environment Bill passed through its second reading in the House of Commons, the liberal conservatism group Bright Blue proposed around 50 aims and recommendations to address climate change and biodiversity decline in the UK.

In a paper entitled Global Green Giant, Bright Blue emphasised the water shortages that will be sparked by climate change and population growth as well as the need to change behaviour.

To reduce the risk of wastewater entering and polluting waterways, the paper suggested water companies should be handed the responsibility of managing wrongly connected drains.

It highlighted the “major source of pollution” that stems from misconnected drains and called for power to be given to water companies, rather than local authorities, to rectify the problem.

The paper said misconnections in drainage systems result in untreated wastewater being discarded in waterways, causing pollution.

It cited the example of the Zoological Society of London working with Thames Water to identify and fix misconnected drains, which prevented the equivalent of 50 megalitres of pollution entering waterways.

Bright Blue suggested the legal responsibility and authority to fix the problem should be given to water companies, with their funding for it derived from capital expenditure budgets – for approval by Ofwat.

To further protect drainage networks the paper recommended councils and local authorities must put “vibrant markings” on surface water drains to raise public awareness and minimise the polluting waste dumped into drains.

In the same week that Kimberly-Clark received the Fine to Flush accreditation for its Andrex wet wipes, the paper recommended a ban on the sale off all non-flushable wet wipes.

The build-up of wet wipes in sewers and pipes makes up around 90 per cent of fatberg materials. This costs water companies millions of pounds each year to remove and causes flooding and pollution incidents.

Furthermore, the group joined water efficiency campaign groups, water companies, environmental lobbyists, including Utility Week, in calling for a mandatory water labelling scheme for household products.

Like the energy rating label, the efficiency label would inform consumers at the point of sale about how much water an appliance will use.

The paper also recommended establishing a dedicated conservation fund with at least £1 billion dedicated to it each year; a ban on non-recyclable plastics; a complete international ban on whaling; and minimum £500 littering fines.