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Apr 1 2023
Water firms to face unlimited fines for polluting – as environment secretary accused of ‘national scandal’ | UK News

Water companies could face unlimited fines for polluting under new government plans.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to announce measures next week to introduce tougher pollution fines that will be put into a “water restoration fund”.

It comes as opposition politicians called on Ms Coffey to resign over the amount of sewage water companies have discharged into UK waterways.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of “turning Britain’s waterways into an open sewer”, as new figures showed water companies took no action to reduce pollution despite discharges falling by 19% in 2022.

Sewage spills out of pipes like these whenever there's significant rain in London
Image:
Sewage spills out of pipes like these whenever there’s significant rain in London

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey accused Ms Coffey of presiding over a “national scandal”, saying she should “now resign or be sacked”.

He said: “These figures are a damning verdict on the government’s failure to protect our treasured rivers and lakes. This is a national scandal and it is happening on the Conservatives’ watch.

“A historic drought is no excuse for this government’s inaction and failure. The environment secretary has let water companies get away with these environmental crimes for far too long.

“It is clear she simply doesn’t care enough to get tough on these polluting firms.

“Therese Coffey must now resign or be sacked so we can have an environment secretary who actually cares about saving our rivers from destruction.”

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey speaking during the National Farmers' Union Conference at the ICC, Birmingham. Picture date: Wednesday February 22, 2023.
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Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to announce plans to ‘make polluters pay’

There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 according to the latest Environment Agency figures – an average of 824 a day.

This was a decrease of almost a fifth but the falling number of discharges was due to dry weather rather than measures taken by water companies.

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Ms Coffey’s plans also include a six-week consultation examining the possibility of strengthening the Environment Agency’s ability to impose sanctions without going through the courts.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the most serious cases will still be taken through criminal proceedings but that all other penalties would be quicker and easier to enforce.

Currently penalties and fines imposed by water regulator Ofwat are returned to the Treasury but under the new plans, money will instead be returned to Defra.

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Speaking about her plans, Ms Coffey said: “I know how important our beautiful rivers, lakes, streams and coastlines are for people and nature – and I couldn’t agree more that more needs to be done to protect them.

“I want to make sure that regulators have the powers and tools to take tough action against companies that are breaking the rules, and to do so more quickly.

“Through the Water Restoration Fund, I will be making sure that money from higher fines and penalties – taken from water company profits, not customers – is channelled directly back into the rivers, lakes and streams where it is needed.”

Campaigners have accused water companies of discharging sewage far more often than they should, including when there has been no rain, and have repeatedly called on water companies to use their profits to invest in more infrastructure.

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Feb 2 2023
Water bills in England and Wales to rise by the most in almost 20 years | UK News

Water bills in England and Wales will increase by the most in almost 20 years from April.

The 7.5% hike will see the average customer pay £31 more annually than last year – taking the typical bill to £448, according to industry body Water UK.

It said bills were lower in real terms than a decade ago and that the below-inflation increase reflected rising energy costs, as water firms use 2% of the country’s electricity.

Consumer groups have warned that some of the one in five who are already struggling to pay could be pushed over the edge.

People with large families or on a meter could face a rise much higher rise than the average £31.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said there was a postcode lottery of social tariff schemes, meaning some people who need help with their bills “slip through the net”.

“These increases will bring more uncertainty to struggling households at a time when they can’t be certain they will get the help they need,” said CCW chief executive Emma Clancy.

“Low-income households need immediate relief and the long-term security of knowing their water bill will be affordable.

“It’s not fair that struggling households face a postcode lottery when it comes to getting help with their bill – that’s why we urgently need a new water affordability scheme that provides consistent support based on people’s needs.”

Read more:
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Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action also called for social tariffs to be made “fairer, more consistent, and accessible to everyone who needs it, regardless of where they live”.

Water UK policy director Stuart Colville said an extra £200m was being released by the companies to help such people.

“Anyone with worries should contact their water company or go to supportontap.org for advice, and it’s worth remembering that water companies will never cut anyone off, or make them use a prepayment meter,” he said.

Mr Colville said the rise would also support record investments and that a further £70bn would be spent in the coming years on new reservoirs and “building new reservoirs and ending overflows into rivers”.

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Jan 25 2023
Scottish Water apologises after burst water main in Milngavie cut off 250,000 customers and cracked road | UK News

Around 250,000 customers in Scotland were left without water after a major pipe burst.

The pipe burst in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, on Tuesday afternoon and led to flooding in the area.

The force of the 36-inch mains bursting split Auchenhowie Road open, and children at the Lullaby Lane nursery had to take shelter in the nearby Rangers Training Centre.

Restoration works have been carried out but Scottish Water has warned there could be some ongoing interruptions and discolouration to normal supply.

The utilities company said around 100,000 properties were affected across East Dunbartonshire and parts of Glasgow.

Supplies for customers in Glasgow city centre and the Knightswood, Yoker, Scotstoun, Partick, Kelvinside, Tradeston and Ibrox areas of the city were also interrupted.

Fans attending Lewis Capaldi’s gig at the OVO Hydro faced long queues after the venue was forced to close some toilets due to the water shortage.

Hydro bosses said the issue was beyond their control but the “safety and comfort” of its customers took priority.

The water supply had been reconnected for most affected homes and businesses by Tuesday night.

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In an update on Wednesday morning, Scottish Water said: “We are aware that there are some isolated reports of no water from customers in and around Glasgow city centre this morning.

“This is under investigation, and we will be liaising directly with those customers that have contacted us this morning.”

Those that are experiencing discoloured water have been advised by the company that it is the natural lying sediment within the mains that has been disturbed and that it should clear by gently running the cold-water kitchen tap.

White water – caused by air in the water – will settle within the next day or two, Scottish Water added.

Glasgow Road and part of Auchenhowie Road remain closed with local diversions in place.

Scottish Water added: “We are working with our utility partners to assess the impact and damage caused, as well as to allow a safe excavation of the damaged water main for repairs to be undertaken.

“We apologise to all customers affected for the inconvenience and disruption to their service.”

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Dec 25 2022
Britons urged not to pour meat fats down sink to avoid blockages in water system | UK News

Britons are being urged not to pour their meat fats down the sink today, to avoid blockages in the water system.

South West Water is looking to avoid the build up of so-called fatbergs over the holiday season, which are often caused by people pouring their foul, fowl juices from their festive feasts down the sink while hot, which clogs up the pipes when they cool.

The firm says a medium-sized turkey, which many of us will be tucking into at some point today, can produce up to three quarters of a pint of fat, meaning if every house covered by South West Water poured their fats down the sink, it would be the equivalent of 2,800 full bath tubs entering the sewer system.

Undated handout photo issued by Thames Water of a fatberg, that had the weight of a small bungalow, under Yabsley Street, Canary Wharf, London, before its removal. Issue date: Friday February 19, 2021.
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Water firms want to avoid scenes like this one – from underneath Canary Wharf last year

Guy Doble, the company’s director of wastewater recovery, treatment and networks, said: “Don’t let the fat from your festive feast ruin your Christmas by causing blockages and fatbergs.

“Tens of thousands of litres of waste fat, cooking oil and grease are poured down sinks in the South West each year, along with food waste, which can build up in pipes.

“These mix with wrongly flushed items such as wet wipes, hygiene wipes, cleaning wipes, cleansing pads and sanitary products, causing blocked sewers which can lead to flooding in your homes and in the environment.

“Every year we deal with around 8,500 blocked sewers across our region – around one every hour – and these can increase the risk of flooding and damage to customers’ homes and properties.

“So don’t let fat spoil the festivities this Christmas and play your part by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, paper and poo – down the loo, and avoid pouring fats, oils and greases down your sink.”

Last year, a fatberg the “weight of a bungalow” was removed from a London sewer underneath Canary Wharf, with the process taking more than two weeks.

A fatberg in Birmingham was also removed, which was said to more than a kilometre in length and 300 tonnes in weight – taking more than a month to clear.

South West Water covers more than two million people across Devon and Cornwall and some 450 tonnes of unflushable material is removed from its system every year – including wet wipes, sanitary products and cotton pads.

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Dec 22 2022
Tens of thousands facing Christmas without water after pipes burst | UK News

Thousands of homes in southeast England are at risk of spending Christmas without running water after freezing temperatures caused pipes to burst.

Water companies are working to reconnect households in large parts of Sussex, Kent and Hampshire before the holiday weekend.

Firms said the rapid thaw of frozen pipes had increased the number of bursts and leaks, causing storage reservoir levels to drop following the sub-zero temperatures.

South East Water said it is “committed to getting its customers who are currently without water back in supply by Christmas Day if not sooner”.

The firm said there was a 300% increase in the number of bursts, and chief executive David Hinton told BBC South East Today about 5,000 properties were still affected on Wednesday.

Southern Water said in a statement: “We are currently facing significant pressure on our water supply in parts of Hampshire, caused by a combination of factors including leaks resulting from the recent ‘freeze/thaw’ event.

“This has meant demand for water is outstripping the ability of our water treatment sites to keep taps running.

“We are working as hard as we can to solve this issue, tackling leaks and stabilising supply, but we must also make difficult decisions to reduce demand – in order to protect critical Hampshire infrastructure like hospitals.

“This is why we unfortunately have to restrict water supplies to some customers in parts of Hampshire, for a period of at least 48 hours.”

Both water companies apologised for the disruption.

Emergency supplies of bottled water have been delivered to towns and villages.

Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, tweeted: “I’ve asked Southern Water to set up a bottled water station in Southampton – not acceptable that the closest one is the park and ride at Winchester.”

Mr Hinton said in a statement: “Our teams are working flat out to find, fix and repair the leaks on our pipes but we’re asking customers to help too by checking their homes, businesses, empty properties, outside taps and troughs in any fields for leaks and get them repaired as soon as possible.

“Leaks within properties can cause extensive damage which can be costly to repair.”

The news comes just days after burst pipe in north London forced several homes to be evacuated.

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A burst water pipe has left roads and homes flooded in north London

A 42-inch water main burst overnight on Saturday unleashing flooding half a metre deep across an area of around 800 metres.

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were called to Belsize Road in the London Borough of Camden at around 3am on Saturday morning.

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Sep 17 2022
Extra-terrestrial water found for first time in meteorite that landed in UK | UK News

Extra-terrestrial water has been discovered for the first time in a meteorite that landed in the UK.

The meteorite crashed into a driveway in the Gloucestershire town of Winchcombe last February and is believed to hold clues about where the water in the Earth’s vast oceans came from.

Some 12% of the sample was made up of water, and offers a lot of insights since it was the least contaminated specimen to be collected, according to Ashley King, a researcher in the planetary materials group at the Natural History Museum.

“The composition of that water is very, very similar to the composition of water in the Earth’s oceans,” he told the British Science Festival.

“It’s a really good piece of evidence that asteroids and bodies like Winchcombe made a very important contribution to the Earth’s oceans.”

Dr King also confirmed that it was the first time a meteorite containing extra-terrestrial water – albeit locked up in minerals – had fallen in the UK, in the historic Cotswold town.

He explained that because the 1lb (0.5kg) meteorite was retrieved quickly, within around 12 hours, it was not contaminated by water and materials on Earth.

He continued: “We always try and match the composition of the water meteorites and other extra-terrestrial materials to the composition of the water on the Earth.

“For most meteorites, the challenge we have is that they are just contaminated, whereas with Winchcombe we really know that it really hasn’t been contaminated, so it’s good evidence.”

Fragments from the meteorite which landed in Winchcombe last year
Image:
Fragments from the meteorite which landed in Winchcombe last year

Dr King went on: “One of the big questions we have in planetary sciences is where did the water on Earth come from? And one of the obvious places is either through comets that have loads and loads of ice in them, or asteroids.

“There’s always a debate – were comets the main source, were asteroids the main source?”

But he explained that data from missions to comets suggest they are not a good match for the water on earth, adding: “The composition of the water in Winchcombe is a much better match, so that would imply that asteroids – carbonaceous asteroids – were probably the main source of water to the inner solar system, to the Earth.”

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Dr King continued: “We’ve had a hint that some asteroids match back nicely to the Earth.

“But now we have a meteorite which is really fresh that we know hasn’t been modified, and it’s confirming that same story.”

Speaking at De Montfort University, which is hosting the festival, Dr King revealed that analysis suggests that the meteorite derived from an asteroid somewhere near Jupiter.

It is believed to have been formed around 4.6 billion years ago and has taken some 300,000 years to reach Earth.

As it stands, there are approximately 65,000 known meteorites on Earth.

The meteorite found in Winchcombe is the first known carbonaceous chondrite to have been found in the UK, and the first to be recovered across the country in 30 years.

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Aug 29 2022
Be ‘less squeamish’ about drinking reprocessed sewage water, environment chief says | UK News

Britons should be “less squeamish” about drinking reprocessed sewage water, and stop treating the resource as a “free good”, the head of the Environment Agency has said.

It comes as water companies have been accused of dumping sewage into rivers and the sea over the last few weeks, triggering warnings about contaminated water.

There have been growing calls to strip water company bosses of their multimillion-pound bonuses after outrage at how much sewage is being pumped into the sea.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Sir James Bevan, head of the Environment Agency, said that people in the UK should be “less squeamish” when it comes to drinking water that has previously been mixed with sewage, as water companies plan to recycle water directly from flushed toilets.

Sir James says this type of water is “perfectly safe and healthy, but not something many people fancy”.

He added we should “change the way they think about water”, and “treat it as a precious resource, not a free good”.

“We need to remember where it comes from: when we turn on the tap, what comes out started in a river, lake, or aquifer,” he wrote.

“The more we take, the more we drain those sources and put stress on nature and wildlife.

“If we are going to get there, we are all going to have to think differently. Some of these measures will be unpopular, so future governments will need to show political will.”

Sir James’s comments come as a Channel 4 News investigation found more than 870 water pipes in the UK could be dumping sewage without permits.

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Sewage alerts keep swimmers away

More than 200 of those have been confirmed to be in use by water companies, the broadcaster said.

The Environment Agency told the programme: “Water companies have rightly been condemned for allowing far too many sewage spills, and we are holding the industry to account on an unprecedented scale.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added: “We are the first government to take action to tackle sewage overflows. We have been clear that water companies’ reliance on overflows is unacceptable, and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority.

“This is on top of ambitious action we have already taken, including setting targets to improve water quality which will act as a powerful tool to deliver cleaner water, pushing all water companies to go further and faster to fix overflows.”

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Aug 3 2022
South East Water announces hosepipe and sprinkler ban for customers in Kent and Sussex | Business News

South East Water has announced a ban on hosepipe and sprinkler use for its customers in Kent and Sussex.

The ban will start on 12 August, with an end date that has yet to be decided.

It comes just days after Southern Water announced the first hosepipe ban of the year for customers in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. That ban starts on Friday.

South East Water said its ban is necessary to make sure there is enough water for essential use and to protect the environment, adding that the ban would reduce the amount of water taken from “already stressed local water sources”.

It said: “This has been a time of extreme weather conditions across the UK.

“Official figures show this is the driest July on record since 1935 and the period between November 2021 and July 2022 has been the driest eight-month stint since 1976.

“During July in the South East, we have only seen 8% of average rainfall for the month, and the long term forecast for August and September is for similar weather.”

It added: “The demand for water this summer has broken all previous records, including the COVID lockdown heatwave.

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“We have been producing an additional 120 million litres of water a day to supply our customers, which is the equivalent of supplying a further four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne, daily.”

South East Water supplies 520 million litres of water every day to 2.2 million customers.

The water is drawn from more than 250 boreholes, six rivers, and six reservoirs.

The company’s website said that all customers in Kent and Sussex will be affected by the ban except those on the priority service register.

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Customers in Berkshire and Hampshire will not be affected, it said, adding: “Whilst demand in our supply areas in Berkshire and Hampshire has also increased considerably, we have not suffered from the same water supply issues as experienced in Kent and Sussex.

“For the time being, we are in a position that we can continue to ask our customers to apply voluntary restraint on the amount of water they use at home.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation, and will advise customers if circumstances change.”

The ban means it is forbidden to use a hosepipe that is connected to a mains water supply, including garden sprinklers.

Breaking the rules could result in a fine of up to £1,000.

Shuja Khan, chief executive of data company Arqiva, said having a water smart meter can help people control their use.

He said: “Most people have no idea how much water they use every day because it can be really hard to conceptualise.

“For example, for every 10 minutes of use, the average hosepipe uses 170 litres of water, or almost 19 flushes of a toilet in the same timeframe.

“If people knew that just one hour of hosepipe use was equivalent to the same amount of water that the average family of four consumes over two days, they might reconsider their gardening patterns.”

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Jul 19 2022
Swimmer missing at sea and five others pulled from water after getting into difficulty near Clacton Pier | UK News

A man is missing at sea and five others have been pulled from the water close to Clacton Pier in Essex, the coastguard has said.

Emergency services have been called to the scene and a major search and rescue operation is underway to find the man after six people got into difficulty off the coast.

Nigel Brown, communications manager for Clacton Pier, said the current “dragged” a group towards the pier.

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It comes as a man in his 20s died while swimming in a lake at Cotswold Water Park in Wiltshire.

Police were called shortly after 6pm on Monday but the man was confirmed dead shortly after being pulled from the water.

Staff threw lifebelt rings over the side to help some of those in trouble, he said.

Mr Brown continued: “Eight of them were in the water but my understanding is four or five got into difficulty.

“My understanding is one person was missing.

“The group that were in the water were very worried about one person they couldn’t see and were saying, ‘There’s one missing’.

“As far as I know, that person’s still missing. They’ve had the helicopter up.”

Mr Brown said it was “difficult to tell their ages” but he believed some were in their late teens and early 20s and fully clothed.

Essex Police said: “We’re on the scene assisting emergency services colleagues with a serious and ongoing incident close to Clacton Pier.

“There is a significant emergency services presence in the area while the incident is being dealt with. We’ll provide an update as soon as we practically can.”

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HM Coastguard said it was responding to “a report of multiple people in the water”.

A spokesman said: “HM Coastguard is currently responding to an incident at Clacton Pier following a report of multiple people in the water.

“Clacton beach patrol, the RNLI lifeboat from Clacton and Coastguard rescue teams from Clacton, Walton and Holbrook have been sent to help, as well as the Coastguard rescue helicopter from Lydd.

“Essex Police, Essex Fire Service and Essex Ambulance Service are also attending.

“Five people have been rescued, with the search still ongoing for a sixth man.”

Officials have been warning about the risks of extreme temperatures, with at least four people losing their lives since Saturday.

A 14-year-old is missing in the River Thames in London, while a 13-year-old died on Monday after he got into trouble while swimming in a Northumberland river.

Another boy, 16, also died on Monday in Bray Lake in Berkshire, while a 50-year-old lost his life at Ardsley Reservoir in Yorkshire.

A 16-year-old boy died after he was seen struggling in the water at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, on Saturday.

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