A report by an environmental watchdog has found breaches of law by three agencies designed to protect the water and sewage system.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) says Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat – have all failed in their duties when it comes to combined sewage overflows, or CSOs.
The OEP has sent a reprimand and has listed what needs to be done by the three bodies.
All three now have two months to respond and confirm whether they are going to take those steps. If they don’t, there will be court action.
Helen Venn, the OEP’s Chief Regulatory Officer, said: “The core issue identified in our investigation is the circumstances in which the regulatory system allows untreated sewage discharges to take place.
“We interpret the law to mean that they should generally be permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as during unusually heavy rainfall.
“This is unless an assessment of the CSO concludes that the costs to address the issue would be disproportionate to the benefits gained.
“While the public authorities are now taking steps to ensure their approaches are aligned and reflective of the law, we have found that this has not always been the case.”
The OEP said it found three failures of upholding environmental law by both Defra and the EA and two by Ofwat
