On his first day in office the newly appointed environment secretary ordered water company chief executives to submit plans to make “significant improvements” to reduce sewage discharged into waterways within two weeks.
Ranil Jayawardena told Parliament he had stressed the need to prioritise addressing “the completely unacceptable” volume of wastewater entering rivers and seas in calls with sector heads on Wednesday.
“I told water chief executives that it is not good enough, and I have instructed them to write to me formally by 21 September with a plan for how they will make significant improvements,” he told parliament in oral questions today (8 September).
“I also met the Environment Agency and Ofwat, and told them that they should use every enforcement power available to them to make sure that there is compliance. I will not hesitate to take further action if I do not see the pace of change that this house expects,” Jayawardena added.
Defra published the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan last month setting out expectations for companies to “improve” CSOs near designated bathing sites and high priority nature sites by 2035.
Jayawardena criticised the proposal by Liberal Democrats to stop the use of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) entirely if they are elected as “playing politics with a serious issue” as the discontinuation of CSOs would cause sewage to back up into homes and businesses.
He encouraged research into innovation from around the world to transform the country’s water infrastructure without adding significantly to water bills.
In the same session, shadow environment minister Jim McMahon said water company bosses were “laughing at” Jayawardena, regulators and the public as he demanded “tougher penalties to ensure there is a bottom line”.
Jayawardena previously held an under-secretary role within the Department for International Development. His voting record shows he consistently voted against measures to address climate change inline with his party.