Water firms fast-track investment to stop sewage spills
Water companies are expected to fast-track more than £180m of investment over the next 12 months to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills polluting English waterways.
The new funding commitments are in addition to water companies’ existing £3.1bn investment into storm overflow improvements for this price review period (2020-2025), as well as their ongoing annual investment to maintain the performance of the existing network.
Examples of investment include investment in AI systems to help manage storm loads, the installation of thousands of new in-sewer monitors to check flows and spot blockages early, the recruitment and training of specialist staff, and accelerated wetland construction programmes.
The accelerated improvements, which will be delivered by April 2025, support the targets under the government’s Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This is driving the largest infrastructure investment in water company history, estimated at £60bn over the next 25 years.
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said: “The amount of sewage being spilled into our rivers is completely unacceptable and the public rightly expects action.
“This £180m of accelerated investment, which will stop more than 8,000 sewage spills over the next year, is a welcome step forward as we continue to push for better performance from water companies and hold them to account.”
