Six water companies appealed
these plans and the Planning Inspectorate held
an appeal hearing in January.
The Planning Inspectorate’s
decision was largely in the water companies’
favour and the Environment Agency is
disappointed that the overall decision does not
go as far as it wished. However, the decision
gives some additional protection to the quality
of rivers and coastal waters in England and
Wales, as water companies will now be required
to better maintain these CSOs to minimise
overflows and potential pollution incidents.
Water companies need to
take a forward planning approach to prevent
environmental pollution or increase the risk of
sewer flooding, for example as a result of new
development, and we are concerned that the
Planning Inspectorate’s decision does not
provide this incentive or any mechanism to
protect against future environmental
deterioration.
Since 1989, the Environment Agency has worked
with water companies to identify the highest
sources of pollution from sewage overflows and
has acted to tackle them, and some £2.5bn has
been invested to upgrade sewer systems and
reduce pollution. We will continue to work with
water companies, farmers, local authorities and
others to improve water quality even further to
meet challenging new EU standards.
