Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality

Peter Dowd Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. I represent Glastonbury and Somerton, and a large part of the Somerset levels and moors is in my constituency. Somerset is always at the forefront of flooding, and many of my farmers are always battling flooding. Grants such as the slurry infrastructure grant helped my livestock farmers ensure that nutrients such as phosphates do not enter the watercourses. That improves the viability of our farms, the health of our soil and the cleanliness of our rivers. Does the hon. Member agree that it was wrong for DEFRA to pause access to those grants?

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. Lots of Members wish to speak today, so we could end up with a two-minute limit on speeches. I ask Members to keep their interventions very short, otherwise the limit will go down to one and a half minutes and then down to one minute.

[Catherine Fookes]

Thank you, Mr Dowd. To continue with diffuse pollution, Lancaster University estimates that around 83% of phosphates in the Wye come from diffuse agricultural sources, and only 15% or so from Dŵr Cymru—Welsh Water—assets. Indeed, Dŵr Cymru’s £80 million investment in AMP 7—an AMP is an asset management period, or the investment round that is done in five-year cycles—and the planned £150 million investment in AMP 8 will eliminate 100% of its fair share of phosphates in the Wye catchment by 2032. By 2030, over 90% of the phosphate load will be from diffuse agricultural sources. It is not sewage that is our main problem here.

I know this will be a hard conversation with farmers, but we need to start having it. We need to incentivise the right fertiliser applications and the right stocking rates in our river catchments on both sides of the border in order to ensure we remove the annual accrual and legacy surplus of excess phosphates and restore our rivers back to full health. Business as usual will not work.

Also, we need better enforcement of existing regulations by both the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales. The RePhoKUs project—the role of phosphorus in the resilience and sustainability of the UK food system—at Lancaster University, which re-focuses phosphorus use in the UK food system, estimates that phosphorus leakage from land to water also causes widespread and costly pollution worth £39.5 billion to the UK economy—a huge external cost that we must try to avoid.

In summary, we have been left a very difficult legacy due to inaction by the Tories. It will take much work by the Government to clear up the mess and the water quality in our rivers, lakes and seas to fix this broken system. I am confident that, by working cross-border and in partnership with all those involved, as the current Government are doing, we can clean up our water once and for all, as the Wye catchment partnership aims to do.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. I remind hon. Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate—although you can sit down for the minute. As I said earlier, because of the number of Members who have indicated that they wish to speak, I am imposing a two-and-a-half minute time limit on Back-Bench speeches, with the authority of the Chairman of Ways and Means, to take effect right away. Bear that in mind with interventions, as I am sure you all appreciate.

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[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

rose—

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. Jim Shannon, please carry on.

[Jim Shannon]

I was not sure if I could give way, Mr Dowd, because I am conscious of the time.

Some of the main pollution sources include agricultural run-off containing fertilisers, pesticides and animal waste. The National Farmers Union and the Ulster Farmers Union have committed to reducing their fertiliser use. Has the Minister had a chance to discuss that with them?

The hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) referred to Lough Neagh, which is the largest freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. It drains around 40% of Northern Ireland’s land, of which three quarters are agricultural, and also supplies the water quality for the best part of Northern Ireland. Has the Minister had an opportunity to discuss that with the relevant Minister back home in Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir, to ascertain his opinions about what would be possible?

DAERA has water quality improvement strand funding, which has been running since 2020. It has benefited 47 local projects and provides some £900,000 each year. That scheme has benefited Northern Ireland. Has the Minister had a chance to discuss that with the DAERA Minister?

The Government are committed to improving water quality, and, for Members such as myself, who represent coastal areas with seaside villages, such issues are of major importance to many constituents, and more must be done to ensure adequate water quality. I would like the Minister to commit to further engagement with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations to ensure that we can all pave the way to having healthy and decent water quality.

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[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

It is, as always, a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) for securing this vital and important debate.

The quality of our rivers, lakes and seas is a concern not just for my constituents in Hexham, but nationally. I am pleased to see so many hon. Members, from most parties, in the Chamber today to share our commitment to protecting and improving water quality throughout the country.

The alarming and extremely dangerous threat of pollution and sewage not only harms our wildlife and ecological systems—our rivers are flooded with sewage on a daily basis, which cannot be ignored—but dramatically damages the tourism business in my constituency of Hexham, which is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country and to most of Northumberland national park, which I invite all hon. Members to visit. I am extremely proud that the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill is taking the necessary first steps towards addressing the poor performance of our water companies by increasing regulation over them and criminalising the sewage pollution of our waters. The Bill is a vital step to effecting broader change across the sector. I know that the Minister sees it as a much-needed first step in challenging those practices after 14 years of neglect.

I pay tribute to groups such as the Wylam Clean Tyne group, which found in 2022 that pollution in our River Tyne exceeded safe levels by over 15 times, a shocking indictment of the previous Government’s legacy. From the River Tyne to Kielder Water and Derwent reservoir, and hidden waterfalls such as Linhope Spout and Hareshaw Linn, near Bellingham, my constituency has some of the most idyllic waters in the country. We also have wildlife: woodpeckers, spotted flycatchers, wood warblers and badgers can all be seen in my constituency, as well as a number of freshwater fish—since I was elected, some Members have told me that they occasionally go fishing in my constituency. We need to protect the quality of those waters not only because it is the right thing to do but because of the fundamental difference that would make to my constituency and its local economy.

I again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire for securing this debate, and thank the Minister for her work. I join all my constituents in calling for the Government to go further to make sure that our rivers are properly protected.

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

I gently remind Members that referring to who is and is not present is the road to perdition.

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[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

The hon. Lady talks about swimmers falling ill because of sewage dumping, and the same thing has happened to groups of teenagers in my constituency. The most recent issue with sewage dumping in my patch involved a flooded field, and I am grateful to all the constituents who sent me photos of the raw sewage in that field. I am sure the hon. Lady will agree that the Water (Special Measures) Bill is a real opportunity to move forward and tackle some of these issues, but does she also agree that we need to go even further, possibly by having a sewage tax—

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Thank you.

[Lisa Smart]

—to make the water companies pay for the damage they cause?

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[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. Will people pay respect to the Chair’s decision? When I ask you to sit down, would you please do so? Thank you very much.

[Anna Gelderd]

Thank you, Mr Dowd, and I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention.

I thank Feargal Sharkey, who visited my constituency last summer, and I thank the Minister for all her work on this important topic. Feargal Sharkey met local residents with me and heard the strength of local feeling on this issue. Our fishing communities suffer from poor water quality, which can cause habitat degradation and put our commercial catches at risk. Research by the Marine Conservation Society and the University of Portsmouth has shown a worrying increase in chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in seaweed. PFAS, which are known as forever chemicals because of their highly persistent qualities, do not break down in our natural environment. They accumulate in the environment and in our food chain, impacting biodiversity and public health. This is a serious concern, and I look forward to working with the Minister to do more to address it.

Labour’s Water (Special Measures) Bill is a much-needed first step towards improving the accountability and performance of water companies, which is something I welcome and I congratulate the Minister on. It is time to ensure that water bosses can no longer sell us down the river. Customer service, environmental protection and investment in infrastructure must be prioritised over profit in relation to what is fundamentally a public asset.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. I ask the hon. Gentleman not to intervene, because we are right up against it. Thank you.

[Anna Gelderd]

I know my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law) is an important champion for Cornwall as well.

South East Cornwall’s beautiful, natural environment is priceless, and I applaud the determination of my local residents to make a difference. We also have the national leadership that is so essential to tackle this crisis. The Government are already taking action to clean up the mess that we inherited, and we know that the Water (Special Measures) Bill is a vital first step to support constituencies such as mine, and local campaigners in them. I look forward to working with the Minister to restore water quality, protect our environment, improve public health and secure livelihoods in South East Cornwall.

[Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to take part in a debate with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. Diolch yn fawr to my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) for securing this debate.

There has been a lot of talk today about the issue of sewage dumping and the important Water (Special Measures) Bill, which I fully support. However, I am here to talk about Bown Pond in Fradley, a village in my constituency. On 11 December last year it had a serious pollution incident involving not sewage, but some form of hydrocarbon—probably an oil, but we are yet to see the result. The lake is well respected by local residents and it is a huge amenity for the village, but when the foam discovered on the surface of the pond was identified, that was followed by almost all the fish in the pond dying and a whole family of swans needing to be transferred to Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary in Burton. I really commend the sanctuary for its work, but unfortunately it was unable to save the cygnets and had to put the swans to sleep, because whatever was in the water had burned the swan’s tongues, leaving ulcers. That was a real concern to residents in Fradley and me, and a very distressing incident for everybody concerned.

I know the Environment Agency is working hard on it, but almost a month later we have not yet had the results of the investigations into the water. At this point, I ask the Minister: can we look very closely at the resourcing of the Environment Agency? After 14 years of cuts upon cuts, we need to make sure that we are giving that vital piece of our regulatory framework the resources that it needs to investigate such incidents and make sure that prosecutions follow up where necessary.

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

I would like to give Catherine Fookes a minute or two at the end to wind up, so I hope the Minister and spokespersons will bear that in mind.

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[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

I call Catherine Fookes, who has maybe 30 seconds to sum up.