Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on improving water quality in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Havering.

We are committed to continue to improving water quality and are delivering the record investment, the stronger regulation and the tougher enforcement to improve our water for our own health, for nature and the economy. For example, on 20 February we announced plans to more than quadruple Environment Agency (EA) water company inspections, strengthening oversight, reducing the reliance on self-monitoring.

The EA is working with Thames Water under the Water industry National Environment Programme’ (WINEP) scheme on improved monitoring for the two wastewater treatment works in Havering that discharge to the River Ingrebourne, and in Brentwood on a scheme to reduce phosphorous.

Thames Water were required to install ‘Event Duration Monitoring’ (EDM) at all storm overflows on their sewerage network before the end of 2023; the two sites requiring EDM in Havering have had these since 2019.

Further schemes are ongoing with Groundwork East to deliver a combined Yellowfish and Junior River Wardens project working with schools along the River Ingrebourne, with potential to expand this scheme to cover the River Rom.