A petition calling for the requirements for tackling sewage discharges into seas and rivers to be brought forward has been created by Isle of Wight resident, Al Chisholm.
The petition reads:
Storm overflows were designed in the Victorian era to be used during extreme weather to prevent sewers becoming overloaded by releasing diluted wastewater into our rivers and sea. The system is outdated. The current government timeline and regulations is to have addressed the issue by 2050.
On the 26th Aug, 2022, the Government published a plan to require water companies to achieve the following targets so that discharges only happen when there is unusually heavy rain and when there is no immediate adverse impact to the local environment:
- By 2035, water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water; and improve 75% of overflows discharging to high priority nature sites.
- By 2050, this will apply to all remaining storm overflows covered by the Government’s targets, regardless of location.
We implore the Government to set more ambitious targets, requiring water companies to address high priority areas by 2025, and all overflows by 2030.
What happens
If 10,000 signatures are collected, the Government will respond to this petition. However, if 100,000 signatures are collected, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
The petition
If you’d like to sign the petition you can do so over on the Parliament Website.
