London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Environment Bill passes following lengthy battle over sewage

Environment Bill passes following lengthy battle over sewage

The government's Environment Bill has been approved by Parliament, following a lengthy battle over the amount of sewage released into rivers.

The House of Lords had proposed putting a legal duty on water firms to reduce untreated sewage discharges.

Ministers rejected the amendment, but following pressure from peers and campaigners, the government put forward its own alternative.

MPs and peers have now voted for the plan but some say it is not enough.

Green peer Jenny Jones argued that the government's amendment did not include proper timetables or targets for companies to reduce sewage discharge.

"This will come to haunt MPs," she said, and warned that the UK risked returning to "the 1970s version of ourselves as the dirty man of Europe".

But the Duke of Wellington - who originally proposed the amendment to tackle the problem - was satisfied, arguing that the bill now gave ministers the power to act against poorly performing companies.

He said pollution of the country's rivers was "a national embarrassment… our children and grandchildren will surely be surprised that we allowed this revolting state of affairs to continue for as long as it did".

"I hope these clauses will bring it to an end."

Open water swimmers had been among the groups calling for action


Water companies are allowed to release sewage into rivers after certain weather events, such as prolonged periods of heavy rain.

This protects properties from flooding and prevents sewage from backing up into streets and homes.

However, Environment Agency figures show that water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times last year, with untreated effluent - including human waste, wet wipes and condoms - released into waterways for more than three million hours in 2020.

Some firms are taking action - Southern Water has announced that it is launching a taskforce to cut storm overflows by 80% by 2030 - but there was no law to force them to.


In October, the Duke of Wellington - an independent peer - put forward an amendment to the government's Environment Bill in an effort to address the problem.

It placed a legal duty on water companies and the government to demonstrate progressive reductions in discharges of untreated sewage and to "take all reasonable steps" to avoid using combined sewer overflows.

His proposals were voted down by Conservative MPs prompting an angry response from some environmental campaigners.

In response, the government backtracked and proposed its own amendment, telling water companies they "must secure a progressive reduction in the adverse harm" caused by sewage dumps.

Environment minister Lord Goldsmith told peers that "water companies face a choice: reduce sewage discharges or face the consequences of strong enforcement action".

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Parminter noted the intense interest in the bill - particularly on social media - and said "this government can be under no illusion - if they do not listen and act to stop these appalling sewage discharges, the public will notice".

"It won't just be the environment paying the price in the future, the government will pay the price."

Labour's Baroness Hayman said the government needed to make sure penalties were meaningful in order to ensure companies "change their behaviour".

At the end of the debate, peers voted through the Environment Bill - which was first introduced to Parliament in January 2020 - and will now become law.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×