Environment minister Rebecca Pow has urged water company chief executives to take the lead on environmental priorities as she challenged the sector to do more for the environment.
Chalk streams, combined sewer overflows and safeguarding water supplies were high on the agenda as Pow told the company leaders that “much stronger action” was needed.
She acknowledged the investment made by companies but said more had to be done to protect the environment and safeguard water supplies.
“Water companies need to take their environmental obligations seriously and this impetus must come from the top,” she said. “Despite investment from the industry, the damage inflicted on our environment – our rivers, lakes, streams and the wildlife that rely on them – is still far too great.”
She called for a reduction in the volume of sewage discharged into watercourses during heavy rainfall. A taskforce has been formed by the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) together with the Environment Agency (EA), Ofwat and Water UK to set clear targets for reducing the reliance on storm overflows. Pow added the upcoming Environment Bill will allow government to set binding wastewater targets.
Water UK said that with new data available from overflow monitoring, it is right for government to look to accelerate progress by setting clearer and faster ambition and called the taskforce “an important step forward”.
The chief executives were challenged to “significantly raise their ambition” around enhancing chalk streams. Pow will host a chalk stream summit in October to address the catchment of these biodiverse waterways, which are under threat from climate change, abstraction and pollution.
Pow acknowledged the progress made on leakage and reiterated the importance of halving leakage rates, while Christine McGourty, chief executive of Water UK highlighted the importance of reducing consumption as well as lowering leakage. The trade body called on government to embed water efficiency in the day-to-day lives of everyone with a mandatory water labelling scheme.
McGourty said: “Companies have stepped up with significant proposals to contribute to the green, economic recovery, have a key role to play as a founder of the new storm overflows taskforce, and are finding new ways of protecting and enhancing precious resources like the nation’s chalk streams.”
Harvey Bradshaw, executive director of environment and business at the EA described the regulatory targets as “ambitious” to challenge water companies to go “faster and further on environment, leakage and protecting supplies”.
He said: “Water companies have a key role to safeguard our water environment and we will regulate them as a modern regulator should; rewarding excellence and sanctioning behaviour that harms the environment. In this way we will be working with them to drive up standards including through our new taskforce on storm overflows.”
Participants also discussed ways to make the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) more outcome-focused and to increase the involvement and accountability of the water companies.