Ban Water Companies discharging raw sewage into water courses.
111,428 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 12 April 2021; it closed on 12 October 2021. The Government responded on 5 May 2021. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 15 November 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Ban Water Companies discharging raw sewage into water courses.
Ensure Water companies treat the sewage they are responsible for. Not discharge it into rivers and water courses. After all what goes into the ocean comes back as the fish we eat.
This should be illegal!
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 5 May 2021; the petitions site lists the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as responsible. Its summary:
Tackling the harm caused by sewage is a top priority for Government. That is why we have established the Storm Overflows Taskforce and have announced plans for legislation to address this problem.
The opening 389 words of the 691-word response:
All discharges to the water environment, including from storm overflows, require a permit issued by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. The permits contain the necessary conditions to regulate the discharge and protect the environment. Compliance with permits is assessed by the Environment Agency. Any non-compliance is reported and will be subject to appropriate action under the Environment Agency’s enforcement and sanctions guidance. The Environment Agency will continue to prosecute water companies which fail to uphold the law or cause serious environmental harm.
Storm overflows were designed to be used during extreme weather to prevent sewers becoming overloaded with a combination of sewage and rainwater, releasing diluted wastewater into rivers rather than letting it back up into people’s homes. Climate change has led to increased rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth over decades. Storm overflows are a last resort in modern sewer design, but the age of our sewerage systems means their complete elimination is not practicable or affordable.
We recognise that there is more to do with regards to the management of sewage pollution. Rebecca Pow MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defra, has met water company CEOs and made clear that the volume of sewage discharged into rivers and other waterways in extreme weather must be reduced. To achieve this, Defra has established the Storm Overflows Taskforce, bringing together representatives from Government, the water industry, regulators and environmental non-governmental organisations to set out clear proposals to accelerate progress in tackling this issue.
This Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows and has taken steps to improve monitoring and transparency. Eliminating harm from storm overflows is a generational endeavour that will involve significant change and it will take time to achieve, but the Government is determined to accelerate efforts towards this goal. The Taskforce is now working on plans to start making progress towards this goal and has commissioned research to gather evidence on the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options.
On 29 March, the Government also announced new measures would be put into law to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows. Three key duties will be made law:
· A duty on Government to publish a plan by September 2022 to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows and to reduce their impact;
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 1,995, came from Chichester.
110,619 of the signatures were from the UK and 809 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Chichester | 1,995 |
| Bognor Regis and Littlehampton | 1,647 |
| South West Hertfordshire | 1,263 |
| Monmouth | 1,159 |
| Chesham and Amersham | 1,121 |
| Hastings and Rye | 1,039 |
| Havant | 1,035 |
| Canterbury | 878 |
| South Thanet | 829 |
| Christchurch | 748 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 30,527 |
| South West | 14,224 |
| London | 11,814 |
| East of England | 10,885 |
| North West | 8,905 |
| West Midlands | 6,643 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 6,268 |
| Wales | 6,143 |
| East Midlands | 5,595 |
| Scotland | 3,441 |
| North East | 3,264 |
| Northern Ireland | 578 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 15 November 2021. Read the debate in Hansard.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/582336.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
8775b875538ce28c… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.