May. 13 2024
Source Page: Record number of new bathing sites get the go aheadFound: I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports who have impacted by water pollution and sewage discharges.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal and inland waters for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples each year at England’s 424 designated bathing waters, which are used to determine the annual bathing water classifications. These classifications are displayed on signage at bathing waters and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water. Defra welcomes applications for bathing water designations in England for both coastal waters and inland waters such as lakes and rivers. Anyone, including swimming clubs, can apply to designate a site as a bathing water by following the application guidance available at: Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. We have taken a series of actions to require water companies to improve how they manage wastewater. For example, we have set ambitious targets through the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan to reduce the use of storm overflows. This will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history: estimated at £60 billion capital investment in 25 years. To support these targets in the near term, water companies have committed to £180m of new funding over the next year to help tackle sewage spills. This is a new investment committed by water companies to deliver enhanced maintenance programmes to improve the sewer network and is expected to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills polluting English waterways.
These measures will benefit swimming, surfing, angling, canoeing and all other water sports.
May. 09 2024
Source Page: Radioactive substances legislation: scope and exemptionsFound: solids, there is an assumption that they are not directly disposed of to water (e.g. drains, sewers, rivers
May. 09 2024
Source Page: Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects - Advice Note Three: EIA notification and consultationFound: Wales (Wales) (see entries 1 2 and 18 above in Table 1 of this Annex) The relevant w ater and sewage
Mentions:
1: Lord Krebs (XB - Life peer) It is better to stop sewage being released into rivers than to try to clean up the rivers afterwards. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Steve Barclay (Con - North East Cambridgeshire) Two projects near his constituency—the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Mersey Rivers Trust—are involved - Speech Link
2: Mike Penning (Con - Hemel Hempstead) In another part of my constituency, the River Ver has been flooded with sewage yet again. - Speech Link
3: Ruth Cadbury (Lab - Brentford and Isleworth) Sewage has been discharged into our rivers for 3.6 million hours, including the River Thames in my constituency - Speech Link
4: Rebecca Pow (Con - Taunton Deane) They might also like to hear about otters returning to our rivers, about saving red kites by protecting - Speech Link
5: Steve Reed (LAB - Croydon North) Labour’s plan and make water bosses personally criminally liable, so that if they keep illegally dumping sewage - Speech Link
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Government to fund 180 local projects to boost water qualityFound: restoration and flood management Expanded fund to help plant thousands of trees and improve the quality of rivers
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Government to fund 180 local projects to boost water qualityFound: restoration and flood management Expanded fund to help plant thousands of trees and improve the quality of rivers
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Fusion energy facilities: new National Policy Statement and proposals on sitingFound: flowing consistently and equably over clean gravel beds.58 There are approximately 35 chalk rivers
Oral Evidence May. 08 2024
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)Found: Q11 Chair: In terms of the seriousness of this issue compared with, say, sewage pollution—there has