The Environment Agency’s current priorities
The Environment Agency’s job is to make the world better. There are many things that we do to help achieve this goal, but the two most important are protecting the environment and reducing flood risk. After the Spending Review, we just received our financial settlement for the next 3 years from the government. These will be the two things that we spend the majority of our time and money on over the three-year period.
We will reduce flood risks by building flood defences more often and maintaining our existing ones. We will also notify and warn people when flooding is possible. We will also respond to flood events to support communities.
Flood defense works. The nation was confronted with something unprecedented: three named storms in a span of one week last month. While 400 properties were sadly flooded, the flood defenses ensured that more than 40,000 homes and businesses that would have been affected by flooding did not fail. And nobody died. Compare this to 1953, when more than 300 people were killed by a storm surge on the East Coast.
The governments investment in flood defense has led to a decrease of flood-prone properties over the last ten years, even though storms have become more severe and rain has been worsening. The EA is proud to have completed its last six-year flood defense building program on time, on budget, and within budget. This is why we are embarking on a six-year programme that is twice as large in terms cost and more than half as big in terms the number of flood defence schemes we will create. This will help protect well over 300,000.
Our other major role, which is to protect and enhance our environment, will be carried out over the next few year. This will include monitoring the environmental state of our air and water, as well as regulating the industries that are most at risk. Also, we will respond to pollution incidents to stop any further damage, to clear up the mess, to identify the cause, and to take appropriate action against those responsible.
We will also use the new money from the Spending Review to increase our efforts in improving water quality. This includes increasing the number and inspections of the main sources of water pollution – farms, sewage works and sewage plants; and investing in the large water transfer programs the EA runs that help reduce drought risk.
The UK’s impacts on climate change and the challenges that these present
The climate emergency is the central issue of our age and the foundation for everything we do.
Climate change is driving more heavy and violent rainfall. This is leading to increased sewage system discharges and flooding of our cities. It is also increasing the risk of coastal flooding. It is washing more soils into our rivers and threatening farmers livelihoods. It is also causing more pollution.
Climate change must be addressed if we want the environment to be protected and improved. The Environment Agency is helping to make this happen by regulating greenhouse gas emissions. It also runs the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Communities are being helped to adapt to the impacts of climate change. We have built flood defences and created places that are more resilient. We are also trying our best to be a zero-carbon emitter, by making the EA a net zero carbon emitter in 2030.
The opportunities and challenges of tackling water pollution by sewage
Let’s start with the current state of our water. The picture is mixed. Some things are better than others. Due to stricter regulation, there are far fewer pollution incidents that threaten our waters than there were three decades ago. Sewage treatment plants now discharge far less harmful chemicals into our rivers. The best part is that the waters surrounding our coasts are in their best condition since we began monitoring them. Nature has seen a recovery as our waters have improved. The 1960s saw the near extinction of otter populations due to pesticides in rivers. Now, they are found in every county in England.
However, the condition of our water is not good enough. Only 14% of our rivers are in good ecological condition, and this number has remained the same over the past several years. This is because we still see too much pollution due to sewage, industry, road-runoff, and farming. Some things are getting worse, with new threats for our waters, such as microplastics, and so-called forever chemical.
Recognizing that everyone has a part in improving water quality is the first step to achieving it. The polluters, mainly water companies and farmers, need to comply with the law, stop polluting and pay all costs of cleaning up any damage. The media, politicians, and the public must keep the pressure on polluters for their compliance. The EA and other regulators must regulate vigorously and have the resources and powers to do so. All of us must treat water better and use it more wisely.
The problem of sewage pollution has been on the rise in recent years. The majority of sewerage systems in England are combined sewers. They carry both sewage as well as rainwater, which is runoff from roofs or drains. The system can become overwhelmed by heavy rains, which can lead to sewage backing up in homes and streets and clogging treatment works. The system is designed to prevent this by discharging diluted wastewater to rivers or the ocean when it becomes overwhelmed by heavy rain. However, due to increasing population and climate change, combined sewers are now discharging more often and people are less willing to allow that.
What can the EA do about this? We:
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The water companies have established clear limits on when they can release untreated wastewater into rivers or the ocean (only in the case of heavy rainfall or snowmelt) and how much sewage their treatment plants are capable of treating to avoid releasing untreated sewage during high flows.
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Monitor the performance of water companies against these permits and seek to ensure they adhere to them. The companies have been required to monitor their overflows, treatment works, and made that data available to the public. This is increasing pressure on companies to clean up their act.
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We have been prosecuting water companies for the overflowing of sewage pipes too early. We are now conducting a major criminal investigation to determine if the companies’ sewage treatment plants comply with the rules. This may lead to prosecutions. We demand exemplary sentences in cases of significant harm or deliberate intent. Southern Water was recently fined a record-breaking 90 million.
There are potential opportunities. Long-term, to create a better system of sewage that does less harm to the environment. In the short-term, to improve water companies’ behavior and to solicit public support to protect our waters. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee recently proposed one idea: to create a network of citizen scientists to monitor our rivers and inform us about the actions we take to protect them.
The concept is appealing to me. It is a great idea. It could provide many practical benefits, including better understanding of the river’s current status in real-time, which will allow us to take better and faster decisions. It can do a lot of things with a small amount: in a time when resources are scarce, it is possible to do more with less. So we are trying to see if we can do something along those lines.
The Environment Act’s implementation and the role it will play
The Environment Act was enacted in November. It is a good thing. It is one the main mechanisms to deliver government’s 25-year Environment Plan. It has as its heart the ambition to be the first generation to leave the planet in a better place than it was when we found.
To achieve that, the Act requires government to set long-term legally enforceable targets for air quality and biodiversity, water resource efficiency, waste reduction, and resource efficiency. The government will be legally obligated to meet those targets. The EA plays a key role in both developing and delivering those targets.
The Act contains several other important components. To name just two, it requires that the Secretary of State produce a policy declaration on environmental principles (polluter pay, etc.) to which Ministers must refer when making policy. It also creates the Office for Environmental Protection to hold the government and other public agencies (including the EA), responsible for complying with environmental law.
We are happy for these steps and will continue working closely with the government and parliament, businesses, NGOs, and NGOs to make the world a better place for wildlife and people.