Politics
Labour will eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in a decade, environment secretary says
Labour will eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in 10 years, the environment secretary has told Sky News.
Steve Reed also pledged to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030 as he announced £104 billion of private investment to help the government do that.
But he told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips this “isn’t the end of our ambition”.
“Over a decade of national renewal, we’ll be able to eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages,” he said.
“But you have to have staging posts along the way, cutting it in half in five years is a dramatic improvement to the problem getting worse and worse and worse every single year.”
He said the water sector is “absolutely broken” and promised to rebuild it and reform it from “top to bottom”.
His earlier pledge to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030 is linked to 2024 levels.
The government said it is the first time ministers have set a clear target to reduce sewage pollution and is part of its efforts to respond to record sewage spills and rising water bills.
Ministers are also aiming to cut phosphorus – which causes harmful algae blooms – in half by 2028.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed. File pic: PA
Mr Reed said families had watched rivers, coastlines and lakes “suffer from record levels of pollution”.
“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.
Addressing suggestions wealthier families would be charged more for their water, Mr Reed said there are already “social tariffs” and he does not think more needs to be done, as he pointed out there is help for those struggling to pay water bills.
Read more:
Why aquatic life is facing a double whammy as sewage overflows spill into rivers
Thames Water hit with largest-ever fine issued by regulator Ofwat
The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Independent Water Commission’s landmark review into the sector on Monday morning.
The commission was established by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their joint response to failures in the industry, but ministers have already said they’ll stop short of nationalising water companies.
Mr Reed said he is eagerly awaiting the report’s publication and said he would wait to see what author Sir John Cunliffe says about Ofwat, the water regulator, following suggestions the government is considering scrapping it.
On Friday, the Environment Agency published data which showed serious pollution incidents caused by water firms increased by 60% in England last year, compared with 2023.
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Why sewage outflows are discharging into rivers
Meanwhile, the watchdog has received a record £189m to support hundreds of enforcement officers for inspections and prosecutions.
“One of the largest infrastructure projects in England’s history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good,” Mr Reed said.
But the Conservatives have accused the Labour government of having so far “simply copied previous Conservative government policy”.
“Labour’s water plans must also include credible proposals to improve the water system’s resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers,” shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins added.
The Rivers Trust says sewage and wastewater discharges have taken place over the weekend, amid thunderstorms in parts of the UK.
Discharges take place to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed, with storm overflows used to release extra wastewater and rainwater into rivers and seas.
Water company Southern Water said storm releases are part of the way sewage and drainage systems across the world protect homes, schools and hospitals from flooding.
In a village in Ladakh, there was experienced an eruption in the sky which turned the sky into red and green auroras on May 10, 2024. This has not been seen in the past 10 years. It got triggered by the fiery solar storm, called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which are magnetised and thrown from the Sun at a million km per hour distance. Such arruptions in masses, triggered by the filament eruptions and solar flames sped to millions of kilometer towards our planet. This kind of rare aura has been ignited from the fiery solar storm.
Indian Scientists Investigate
According to organiser, The indian scientists’ team, led by Dr. Wageesh Mishra, used the data from NASA, ESA and other ground facilities to find this auroral phenomenon at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, by applying the Flux Rope Internal State (FRIS) model in order to broaden the coronograph images. The evolving temperature, magnetic fields and structure of the Coronal Mass Ejections were mapped at the time of interplanetary journey. This is the first global study to chronicle CME thermal dynamics from the Sun to Earth, which is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Unexpected Reheating of CMEs
In contrast to the expectations, the CMEs didn’t cool with their expansion. In fact, they heat up at their midway, absorbing heat and maintaining a constant temperature over time they impact Earth. This thermal restructuring is due to the collision of two CMEs, where the electrons release high temperatures and ions release mixed lower and higher temperatures predominantly.
Magnetic Collision Triggers Lights
Data from NASA’s Wind Spacecraft, when a solar storm reached Earth, shows that the plasma covered Earth in double flux ropes. These are twisted magnetic structures which can trigger potential geomagnetic disturbances. Such an entangled magnetic field brought auroras as far south. i.e. Ladakh, and produces a spectacular light show that was seen by the citizens of that place.
Global Impact and Research Breakthrough
This finding held significant implications for global space weather forecasting and India. Through the understanding of the interaction of CMEs’ thermal and magnetic changes, the scientists could better develop the early-warning systems for power grid issues, navigation outages and satellite disruptions.
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