Slow the Flow. Shifting Accountability Further Upstream
Megan Parker Williams and Sol Withers
Storm overflow valves are a relief valve in combined sewage systems which protect properties from flooding during heavy storms or sewer blockages. The valves are turned on when excess rainwater or sewage overwhelms a sewage system, discharging the excess waste into lakes, rivers, and the ocean.
There are approximately 15,000 storm overflow valves in England and 2,300 in Wales. Introduced by the Victorians, storm overflow valves were initially designed as a failsafe mechanism that would only be used in exceptional circumstances. However, population growth, urbanization and frequency of extreme of weather events has meant that storm overflow valves are being used more regularly. As a result, there are increasing incidents of raw sewage being discharged directly into the environment.
Significantly, raw sewage contains harmful pathogens as well as a range of pollutants that current methods for treating wastewater fail to remove i.e., microplastics and soluble drugs. Moreover, the altered chemistry of contaminated water can produce toxic algae blooms that suffocate marine flora and fauna. Consequently, the government stated in the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan 2022 that;
‘Improving water quality is not only vital to protect the people who enjoy our waters– from wild swimmers to kayakers, anglers and surfers – but it is also a key part of delivering our goals to recover nature’.
However, the plan fails to address the 600 estuarine and coastal overflows. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) believes that improvements are unnecessary as coastal waters have a high dilution factor. Yet recent studies have shown that the assumption pollutants would be diluted to safe levels in the marine environment is incorrect and unsafe.
Another alarming issue with the plan is the timescale in which it has been set out. It aims to reduce the spill frequency of storm overflows from 29 a year to 10 by 2050, with 48% of overflows not being improved until 2040. This would allow vast quantities of sewage to enter our waterways for another quarter of a century. What is even more concerning is the timescale set out for high-priority nature sites where only 75% are to be improved by 2035; somewhat contrary to the Environmental Act 2021. With 25% of overflow valves still being in use in high-priority nature sites by 2035, it will make reaching the legally binding target of halting species decline by 2030 somewhat far-reaching. To make matters worse, ‘high priority sites’ do not include Special Protection Areas and Marine Conservation Zones, which are vital to the network of marine protected zones.
As of the 14th of February 2023, a conservation charity, WildFish, has been given permission to apply for judicial review of the government’s lacklustre Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. The underlying cause of the problem with the government’s action plan is the continued and persistent failure of the water companies to comply with the duties imposed on them, alongside the government who is failing to enforce them.
However, following a recent Court of Appeal decision, parties affected by the failure of water companies to comply with sewage discharge regulations cannot bring private claims. In Manchester Ship Canal Co Ltd v United Utilities Water Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 852 it was re-affirmed that even those affected directly by the discharge of raw sewage into bodies of water cannot seek a remedy to the injustice, only environmental regulators can as the Water Industry Act 1991 provides a statutory enforcement mechanism for breaches of duty by the sewage undertakers.
The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatized water and sewerage industry in the UK Ofwat’s responsibilities include the regulation of sewage discharge into rivers, lakes, and the sea . Wild Justice were recently refused permission to apply for judicial review of alleged failures by Ofwat. Whilst Ofwat claim they are doing something about the excessive discharge of sewage, a spokesperson for Wild Justice claims that they simply aren’t doing enough.
The Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan is an insult to those who have arduously lobbied for cleaner water ways in the UK; it simply isn’t good enough. Perhaps focusing on the matters further upstream may produce more desired results.
In addition to government policy, there are precautions that us, as a nation, can take too. To lessen the need for storm overflows, good maintenance and sufficient capacity are crucial; with 24 million in the UK, admitting to flushing ‘unflushables’. Flushing products like wet wipes and cooking oils, contribute to forming fatbergs – a rock-like block of waste matter – causing major sewer blockages.
As global warming escalates rainstorms, and a growing population increases urbanization, the danger of surface water flooding is snowballing, exposing over 3 million properties in England to flood risk. Urban development results in higher concrete coverage (an impermeable surface), blocking water’s natural infiltration. Perhaps the real solution to surface water flooding is far closer to home through Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
SuDS are formulated to regulate rainwater locally, through mimicking water’s natural drainage. With a diverse list of SuDS, they can be included from construction, or retrofitted into existing properties. Both residential and commercial properties can benefit from solutions such as permeable paving, rain gardens, rills, and channels.
Resting in the government’s hands, a review of the Reduction Plan must be carried out if the future of storm overflows is to be any brighter.