The Environment Agency is unable to regulate discharge from the outfalls until the information is made available, reports Endsreport

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Details of nearly 2,000 sewage outfalls are being withheld by water companies, according to anglers’ legal organisation Fish Legal.

A freedom of information (FOI) request by Fish Legal revealed that the frequency and contents of 1,968 sewage outfalls remain unknown to the Environment Agency (EA). As a result the discharges cannot be properly regulated.

During the privatisation of the water industry in 1989, several thousand outfalls were given temporary deemed consent (TDC) because no legal permits for these discharges existed.

Since then the EA has been pressing for the industry to provide information about the outfalls so that bespoke permits can be created under the environmental permitting regime and enforcement action can be taken where discharges pollute rivers, lakes or coastal waters.

In 2009, the EA tried to apply blanket conditions to the TDCs to bring them in line with other combined sewage overflow permits. But water companies appealed the action and the appeal was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate.

The water firms said they would prefer to disclose on a voluntary basis rather than being required to do so under regulations, and as a result few details have been forthcoming.

The FOI data shows a variable response, with some water companies such as Anglian Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water making little or no progress.

Others, such as Wessex Water and South West Water, have managed to reduce their number of TDCs significantly (see table). However it is important to note that some TDCs are in the process of being reviewed.

Source: Fish Legal



The EA has given the water companies until the end of January to provide full information about these discharges.

Should they fail to meet this deadline, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal plan to use their newly won right to request environmental information directly from the water companies to force them to disclose full details about the sewage discharges.

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust & Fish Legal, said he would be watching closely to see if any companies fail to meet the EA’s January deadline.

“It is simply unacceptable that these huge companies have failed to provide the necessary information a quarter of a century after these supposedly temporary consents were granted by parliament,” said Lloyd.

“Anglers, swimmers and watersports enthusiasts have a right to know what is polluting their waters and we expect the Environment Agency to be regulating the industry properly.”