Hornchurch and Upminster’s MP, Julia Lopez, has welcomed the largest infrastructure programme in water company history to tackle sewage pollution. The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published today, will revolutionise how water companies tackle the number of discharges of untreated sewage, which the Government and public have made clear are completely unacceptable.

The Victorians introduced storm overflows as a safety valve for combined sewage systems. Now, under pressure from climate change and population growth, water companies use them far too often, threatening the environment and sea users.

Mrs Lopez commented ‘I welcome this plan which will mean that water companies will face strict targets and must completely eliminate the harm any sewage discharge causes to the environment. The current use of sewage overflows is completely unacceptable and water companies need to step up and deliver the services that residents rightly expect. I support Ofwat’s proposals to hold water companies to account and link dividend payments to their environmental performance. We have also invested significantly in London in the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a 16-mile new sewerage tunnel to upgrade the Bazalgette system that we have been relying on since 1865. This will prevent inner London’s sewage going into the Thames Estuary.’