The British government wants to cut raw sewage discharge into the sea to zero by 2050, colossal investments that will translate into higher bills for consumers, the environment minister said on Saturday.
Water supply companies will have to invest some 56 billion pounds (66 billion euros) to renovate sewage systems, according to a government plan presented on Friday. This decision comes as large amounts of sewage have been dumped into the English Channel and the North Sea in recent days, causing pollution of beaches, but also of French coastal waters.
15,000 sewers empty directly into the sea
It is about “revolutionizing our sewage systems”, stressed George Eustice, interviewed by BBC4 radio, noting that the current situation, with some 15,000 sewer pipes emptying into the sea, was “a legacy of 19th century Victorian infrastructure “.
In this way, untreated sewage can be discharged in large quantities, especially when evacuation systems are saturated by violent torrential rains, as happened last week. At the height of the summer season, swimming was banned on many UK beaches due to the health risk.
On Friday, the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, had alerted the French government about these wastewater discharges, an “ecological disaster” that, according to him, has worsened since Brexit.
Three French MEPs, including former minister Nathalie Loiseau, also questioned the British government on this issue. The European Commission said on Thursday that it would soon respond to complaints from MEPs on the issue.
An additional cost to the UK Tories
Water utilities will be required to have refurbished pipes discharging near designated bathing areas under the government’s plan by 2035, and by 2050 at the latest for others. The additional cost to consumers by 2030 will be around £12 per year per household and £42 by 2050.
The Liberal Democrat opposition called this plan a “cruel joke” and estimated that there would still be 325,000 sewage discharges per year in 2030, into the sea, lakes or rivers.
Source: BFM TV
