Journal De Bruxelles - UK govt unveils new water plan after sewage discharges outcry

The "Plan for Water" follows months of criticism over the release of untreated wastewater into Britain's waterways, which last summer sparked the closure of some beaches at the height of a heatwave.

Environmental campaigners have also highlighted the harmful impact the discharges have on the country's wildlife and fragile ecosystems.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, which is facing multiple newspaper campaigns and rising public anger over the issue, said its latest proposals will "clean up our waters and ensure a plentiful supply for the future".

They will seek more investment from water companies, stronger regulation and tougher fines for polluters.

The initiative includes a consultation on a ban on wet wipes containing plastic, which are blamed for causing sewer blockages when flushed down the toilet.

And it will bring forward £1.6 billion ($2.0 billion) of water infrastructure investment to start between now and 2025, although opponents argued this was not new cash.

The announcement received a cautious welcome from some but was condemned as insufficient by critics, who noted it was only seven months since the government announced its last beefed-up stance towards polluting water firms.

- 'Nowhere to hide' -

Unveiling the new plan in a speech in London, under-fire Environment Secretary Therese Coffey vowed to "coordinate community by community on how to tackle pollution from every source".

She pledged "unlimited penalties on polluters" and to reinvest those proceeds into local water restoration projects.

"There will be nowhere to hide for those who continue to pollute our rivers, with support for those who want to do the right thing," she said.

But Coffey cautioned that there would be no quick fix to replumb Britain's antiquated Victorian sewage system.

"Achieving the gold standard for ecological status would mean taking us back to the natural state of our rivers from the year 1840," she said.

"That is neither practical nor desirable in many circumstances."

The Wildlife Trusts, a grouping of nature conservation charities, called for swift implementation of the proposals.

"This investment is imperative and we urge government to ensure that projects begin as soon as possible," said Ali Morse, water policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts.

"Water companies develop long-term plans for water supply and wastewater, which include environmental improvements, but these are set to happen over decades. Our waters and wildlife cannot wait."

- 'Sham' -

However, the main opposition Labour party has blasted the government for a lack of new measures to tackle years of water pollution.

"This announcement is nothing more than a shuffling of the deck chairs and a reheating of old, failed measures that simply give the green light for sewage dumping to continue for decades to come," said Jim McMahon, Labour environment spokesman.

"This is the third sham of a Tory water plan since the summer. There's nothing in it that tells us how, if or when they will end the Tory sewage scandal."

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay echoed the sentiment.

"The actions are too little too late and still leave the water industry in private hands, able to profit from failure," he said.

Former punk rock star Feargal Sharkey, a figurehead of the campaign to prevent water companies polluting rivers and coasts with sewage, pointed out on Twitter it was the third time in five years that the government had said it would ban wet wipes.

"And as for the £1.6bn investment? Does that now replace the £3.1bn announced last year or the £2.7bn announced before that or the £12bn announced before that?" he queried.

R.Cornelis--JdB